Abstract | RATIONALE:
Postpartum depression (PMD) occurs in roughly 10 % of postpartum women and negatively impacts the mother and her offspring, but there are few placebo-controlled studies of antidepressant treatment in this population. OBJECTIVE: METHODS: This was a single-center, 6-week, randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of sertraline with a 1-week placebo lead-in. The participants (n = 38) were women with depression onset within 3 months of delivery; a subset (n = 27) met strict DSM-IV criteria for PMD (onset within 4 weeks of delivery). The participants were prescribed sertraline 50 mg or placebo daily to a maximum of 200 mg/day. Primary outcome variables were the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scores, which were used to determine the rates of response and remission. RESULTS:
Sertraline produced a significantly greater response rate (59 %) than placebo (26 %) and a more than twofold increased remission rate (53 % vs. 21 %). Mixed models did not reveal significant group by time effects, although in the subset of women who met the DSM-IV criteria, there was a statistically significant group by time effect for the HAM-D, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), and CGI. CONCLUSIONS: Women with PMD are more likely to have a remission of their depression with sertraline treatment, a finding that is more pronounced in women who have onset of depression within 4 weeks of childbirth. These data support the continued use of 4 weeks for the DSM-5 postpartum onset specifier for major depressive disorder.
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Authors | Liisa Hantsoo, Deborah Ward-O'Brien, Kathryn A Czarkowski, Ralitza Gueorguieva, Lawrence H Price, C Neill Epperson |
Journal | Psychopharmacology
(Psychopharmacology (Berl))
Vol. 231
Issue 5
Pg. 939-48
(Mar 2014)
ISSN: 1432-2072 [Electronic] Germany |
PMID | 24173623
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
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Chemical References |
- Antidepressive Agents
- Placebos
- Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors
- Sertraline
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Topics |
- Adult
- Antidepressive Agents
(therapeutic use)
- Depression, Postpartum
(drug therapy)
- Double-Blind Method
- Female
- Humans
- Placebos
- Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
(therapeutic use)
- Sertraline
(therapeutic use)
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