title: Trait anxiety levels before and after antidepressant treatment: a 3-wave cohort study.
abstract: The aim of this study was to examine change in "trait anxiety" levels assessed repeatedly before and after antidepressant treatment in a large cohort of men and women. A total of 18,732 participants of the Finnish Public Sector Study with no initial record of depression or self-reported doctor diagnosis of depression completed the short form of the Spielberger Trait-Anxiety Inventory in 2000-2002 (T1), 2004-2005 (T2), and 2008-2009 (T3). We used prescription data from the nationwide Drug Prescription Register to identify antidepressant treatment between T1 and T2 (n = 710). Both men (β = 0.435, P < 0.001) and women (β = 0.300, P < 0.001) who received antidepressant treatment had higher trait anxiety levels at T1. Mixed models analyses of repeated measures showed a small but statistically significant decrease in trait anxiety scores for the overall sample of men (β = 0.023, P = 0.033) and women (β = 0.011, P = 0.031) between T1 and T3. The interaction term between time and antidepressant treatment status suggested a greater decrease in trait anxiety levels among men receiving antidepressant treatment, with an adjusted excess decrease in mean trait anxiety scores of 0.163 (P = 0.012) between T1 and T3. We found some evidence suggesting that this is also the case in women, although the evidence in our data was less consistent for women. This large-scale study provides evidence suggesting that antidepressant treatment is associated with a reduction in trait anxiety levels, particularly in men.
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U1018, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, Epidemiology of Occupational and Social Determinants ofHealth, Université de Versailles St Quentin, UMRS 1018, Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nabi
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Virtanen
authors.forename: Archana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh-Manoux
authors.forename: Gareth
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hagger-Johnson
authors.forename: Jaana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pentti
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kivimäki
authors.forename: Jussi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vahtera
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents