Somatic symptoms in outpatients with major depressive disorder treated with fluoxetine.
Among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), physical and somatic symptoms are associated with a high degree of disability and healthcare utilization. However, little is known regarding the treatment of these symptoms with standard pharmacotherapy. To measure somatic symptoms of depression, the authors administered The Symptom Questionnaire (Kellner) before and after 8 weeks of open-label treatment with fluoxetine, 20 mg/day, in 170 MDD outpatients (mean age: 40.4 years). Somatic symptom scores decreased significantly after fluoxetine treatment. The degree of reduction in somatic symptoms was significantly and positively correlated with the degree of improvement in depressive symptoms as measured by the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (Ham-D). Somatic symptom scores at baseline did not predict the degree of reduction in Ham-D scores during treatment. However, fluoxetine-remitters had significantly lower somatic symptom scores at end-point than responders who did not remit. Taken together, these findings suggest that developing treatment strategies that successfully target somatic symptoms of depression may further improve the ability to treat depression to remission.
Denninger
John W
JW
Massachusetts General Hospital, Depression Clinical and Research Program, Dept. of Psychiatry, 50 Staniford St., Suite 401, Boston, MA 02114-2541, USA. jdenninger@partners.org
Papakostas
George I
GI
Mahal
Yasmin
Y
Merens
Wendelien
W
Alpert
Jonathan E
JE
Nierenberg
Andrew A
AA
Yeung
Albert
A
Fava
Maurizio
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D005473:Fluoxetine; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors