An open and control study of duloxetine and venlafaxine in treatment of depression and anxiety comorbided disorder

AIM To compare the efficacy and safety of duloxetine and venlafaxine in the treatment of depression and anxiety comorbided disorder.METHODS Seventy-six patients with depression and anxiety comorbided disorder were chosen into the 8-week open-label study.The initial doses of duloxetine versus venlafaxine were 20 mg versus 50 mg bid daily,and increased to 60 mg versus 200 mg daily in 7-10 days.The efficacies were evaluated with Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) and the safety profiles were assessed with the Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale (TESS).RESULTS Seventythree effective patients were completed,37 patients (age 52 ± s 14) in duloxetine group and 36 patients (age 47 ± 13) in venlafaxine group.Consistent with the Per-protocol sets at the end of 8 wk,the total effective rate was 89% in the duloxetine group (reduced rate ≥ 50%) and 94% in the duloxetine group,with no statistically significant difference.At 2,4,8 wk of the treatment,the total scores of HAMD and HAMA and factor scores of two groups were both significantly decreased (P 0.01).The reduction of the total scores of HAMD and factor scores of cognitive impairment factor in the duloxetine group were lower than that of the venlafaxine group at the end of 4 wk and 8 wk (P 0.05,P 0.01),while the reduction of factor scores of psychosomatic anxiety and retardation were statistically lower than that of the venlafaxine group at the end of 2,8 wk (P 0.05),respectively.The total scores of HAMA and factor scores of somatic anxiety were higher than that of the venlafaxine group at the end of 2 wk (P 0.05).According to the Safety Analysis Set,the incidence of sleepy drowsiness,dry mouth,and constipation in duloxetine group were significantly higher than that in venlafaxine group (P 0.05,P 0.01) and other adverse reactions had no significant difference (P 0.05).CONCLUSION Duloxetine and venlafaxine possesse similiar effectiveness and safety in the treatment of depression and anxiety comorbided disorder.