SSRIs do not cause affective blunting in healthy elderly volunteers.
OBJECTIVE
This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) on affective experience in healthy older adults.


METHODS
After 1 week of observation, normal elderly volunteers (age range: 65-84 years) were given placebo, paroxetine (10 mg-40 mg/day), or sertraline (50 mg-150 mg/day) for 3 weeks in a double-blind study. Paroxetine- and sertraline-treated subjects were analyzed together as the SSRI group (N=30). Volunteers were assessed weekly and recorded mood and events in a daily diary each evening. All data were analyzed with mixed-effects random-regression models.


RESULTS
There were significant relationships between daily affect and events reported in the daily diary for the sample as a whole, with no differences between groups in mean slopes of positive or negative affect across the length of the study. There were no differences between groups in affective variability. However, the SSRI group, but not the placebo group, demonstrated a significant drug-dependent decrease in negative affect related to negative events. There were no other observed group differences on any other measure.


CONCLUSIONS
Interpreting the results conservatively, they demonstrate that SSRIs are not associated with affective toxicity in elderly persons.
Furlan
Patricia M
PM
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, and MIRECC, Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, 19104, USA.
Kallan
Michael J
MJ
Have
Thomas Ten
TT
Lucki
Irwin
I
Katz
Ira
I
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017374:Paroxetine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020280:Sertraline / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D017374:Paroxetine; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D020280:Sertraline