title: Quality of Life in 833 outpatients with major depression treated with open-label venlafaxine extended release: An observational 24-week study.
abstract: BACKGROUND Quality of Life (QoL) assessments are common in medicine and, recently, in psychiatry, mostly in patients with chronic mental illness. We evaluated QoL in depressed outpatients treated with venlafaxine-XR over a period of 24 weeks. METHOD We evaluated 833 patients with DSM-IV major depression using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MÅDRS), and the QoL in Depression Scale (QLDS). The patients received venlafaxine-XR and we evaluated them after 4, 8, and 24 weeks of treatment. RESULTS HAM-D scores decreased from a baseline of 24.6 &#45 6.3 to 6.0 &#45 5.5 (mean &#45 SD; P <0.0001) after 24 weeks. HAM-A scores decreased from a baseline of 32.3 &#45 7.9 to 6.8 &#45 6.8 ( P <0.0001) after 24 weeks. QLDS scores decreased from a baseline of 25.8 &#45 5.8 to 6.6 &#45 7.5 ( P <0.0001) after 24 weeks, indicating improvement in QoL. The response after 4 weeks was also significant and continued improving during the study. Venlafaxine-XR was shown to be safe and well tolerated. DISCUSSION Open-label venlafaxine-XR was safe, effective, well tolerated, and improved not only depression and anxiety symptoms, but also QoL, in outpatients with major depression. This study has the limitations of any non-randomized, non-blinded multiple-site clinical trial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry & Medical Psychology Clínica Universitaria, University of Navarra Pamplona.
authors.forename: Salvador
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cervera-Enguix
authors.forename: Cesar A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Soutullo
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Landecho
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Murillo-Jelsbak
keywords: Antidepressants; Depression; Quality Of Life