title: Mirtazapine versus venlafaxine for the treatment of somatic symptoms associated with major depressive disorder: a randomized, open-labeled trial.
abstract: Somatic symptoms are often important in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of this open-labeled trial was to examine the efficacy of mirtazapine for the treatment of MDD with clinically significant somatic symptoms, as compared with venlafaxine. A total of 126 patients with MDD (score >/=18 on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression-17) were included in both the intent-to-treat (n=73 in the mirtazapine group and n=53 in the venlafaxine group) and completer analysis (n=51 and n=37, respectively). After treatment, both treatment groups showed similar improvements in depressive symptoms. Repeated measures analysis of variance for the intent-to-treat population revealed that there were no significant differences in mean change of the Symptom Check List-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) somatization subscores between the two groups. For completers, there was a significant timextreatment interaction in the SCL-90-R somatization subscores, but the differences between the two groups at endpoint did not reach statistical significance in post-hoc analysis. In conclusion, this study suggests that overall efficacies of mirtazapine and venlafaxine are similar for the treatment of overall symptoms in MDD, and both drugs may be useful for the treatment of somatic symptoms in MDD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Eun-Ho
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: In-Soo
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sang-Keun
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Sang-Yeol
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Eui-Jung
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jin-Pyo
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Kang-Seob
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Jong-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Woo
authors.forename: Seonwoo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Joo-Eon
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Bum-Hee
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003511:Cyclohexanols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008803:Mianserin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008875:Middle Aged; D000078785:Mirtazapine; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020886:Somatosensory Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D000069470:Venlafaxine Hydrochloride
chemical_list: D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D003511:Cyclohexanols; D008803:Mianserin; D000069470:Venlafaxine Hydrochloride; D000078785:Mirtazapine