Control study for effects of mirtazapine and fluoxetine on life quality of patients with depression

Objective: To explore effects of mirtazapine and fluoxetine on life quality of patients with depression.Methods: 76 cases meeting CCMD-3 criteria for depression were randomly divided into mirtazapine group and fluoxetine group,wherein these cases were treated with mirtazapine and fluoxetine,respectively.Before and after the treatment,the clinical effects were evaluated by Hamilton depression scale(HAMD),the side effects were evaluated by treatment emergent symptom scale(TESS),and the life quality was evaluated by generic quality of life inventory-74(GQOLI-74).Results: 8 weeks after the treatment,the effective rates of mirtazapine group and fluoxetine group were 80% and 75%,respectively,and the difference was statistically insignificant(x2= 0.689,P 0.05).The HAMD scores of the two groups decreased significantly compared with those before the treatment(t = 4.642,3.251,both P 0.01);however,the significant decrease occurred in mirtazapine group 2 weeks after the treatment(t = 2.156,P 0.05) and there was a significant difference between the two groups(t = 3.398,P 0.05).8 weeks after the treatment,the mirtazapine group was obviously improved in other three life quality factors except the material life factor(t = 2.431-3.684,P 0.05 or P 0.01),while fluoxetine group had no significant improvement in the life quality(t = 3.572,P 0.05) except psychological functions(t = 3.572,P 0.05).After the treatment,except the material life factor score,other three factor scores of mirtazapine group were all higher than those of fluoxetine group,and the differences had the statistical significance(P 0.05 or P 0.01).Conclusions: Mirtazapine is more useful for improving the life quality of the depressive patients,compared with fluoxetine.