Objective: Depression in older adults is common, under-diagnosed, disabling, and treatable. Although increasingly recognized as an important indicator of antidepressant efficacy, little data is available on remission rates from placebo-controlled trials in the elderly. We report remission rates based on analyses performed on the largest placebo-controlled trial conducted in elderly patients with depression.
Design: Outpatients (N=752) 60 years or older (mean age 69.9), with DSM-IV diagnosis of major depression and a 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) total score > 18, were randomized to receive sertraline or placebo for 8 weeks.
Materials and Methods: Remission was defined as endpoint HAM-D<10 or CGI-S of 1 or 2 (normal, not at all ill, or borderline mentally ill). Remission rates were calculated using the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel Test.
Results: There were significantly more remitters in the sertraline group than in the placebo group. HAM-D remitters were 34% on sertraline and 24% on placebo (completers) and 29% on sertraline and 23% on placebo (LOCF at endpoint). CGI-S remitters were 37% on sertraline and 25% on placebo (completers) and 33% on sertraline and 23% on placebo (LOCF at endpoint).
Conclusion: These results suggest that sertraline is effective in achieving complete remission of symptoms in elderly patients with major depression. The 8-week duration of the study should be taken into account when interpreting these findings as longer antidepressant treatment periods, particularly in the elderly, may be associated with higher remission rates. Future studies are needed to confirm these observations.
Source of Funding: Pfizer, Inc.
Back to PB Tuesday Poster Sessions
Back to The Eleventh International Congress