Interview study, 1996
Do antidepressants help treat PMDD and similar conditions?
The evidence suggests antidepressants probably help, but the research quality is too varied to be certain. Better studies are needed.
What they did
Reviewed studies examining how well different antidepressant drugs worked for conditions including PMDD, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, and atypical facial pain.
What they found
Most studies found that various antidepressants helped these conditions to some degree. However, the studies used very different designs, definitions, ways of measuring improvement, and doses. Many also included other treatments alongside antidepressants. Some measured only physical symptoms, some only psychological symptoms, and not all measured both.
What it means for you
Antidepressants likely help PMDD and similar conditions, but the existing research is not rigorous enough to be confident. The researchers hypothesize these conditions may share a common cause with depression, but this needs testing with better-designed studies.
6
condition groups reviewed
About the study
- Original title
- The management of treatment-resistant depression in disorders on the interface of psychiatry and medicine. Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, atypical facial pain, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder
- Authors
- Gruber AJ, Hudson JI, Pope HG Jr
- Journal
- The Psychiatric clinics of North America
- Year
- 1996
- Study design
- Interview study
- What was tested
- None
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/s0193-953x(05)70292-6
Topics
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