Sertraline Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study
Olga Brawman-Mintzer, Rebecca G. Knapp, Moira Rynn, Rickey E. Carter, and Karl Rickels
J Clin Psychiatry 2006;67(6):874-881
© Copyright 2019 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.
To view this item, select one of the options below.
-
-
Purchase This PDF for $40.00
If you are not a paid subscriber, you may purchase the PDF.
(You'll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
-
Subscribe
Receive immediate full-text access to JCP. You can subscribe to JCP online-only ($86) or print + online ($156 individual).
With your subscription, receive a free PDF collection of the NCDEU Festschrift articles. Hurry! This offer ends December 31, 2011.
-
-
Activate
If you are a paid subscriber to JCP and do not yet have a username and password, activate your subscription now.
-
Sign in
As a paid subscriber who has activated your subscription, you have access to the HTML and PDF versions of this item.
-
Click here to login.
-
Did you forget your password?
Still can't log in? Contact the Circulation Department at 1-800-489-1001 x4 or send email
Objective: This study assessed the
efficacy and safety of sertraline in the treatment of
generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
Method: The study was conducted from
April 2000 to May 2002. Outpatients with DSM-IV GAD (N = 326) who satisfied
inclusion/exclusion criteria and completed a 1-week screening
phase were randomly assigned to 10-week
double-blind treatment with flexible dosing of sertraline
(50-200 mg/day) or placebo. The primary efficacy measure was change from baseline in
Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A) total
score. Response was defined as a 50% or greater decrease in HAM-A total score at endpoint.
Results: Sertraline produced a
statistically significant reduction in anxiety symptoms,
as measured by HAM-A total change scores (p = .032), HAM-A psychic anxiety
subscale (p = .011), and Hospital Anxiety and
Depression Scale-anxiety subscale (p = .001). Response
rates were significantly higher (p = .05) for the sertraline group (59.2%) compared to the placebo group (48.2%). Sertraline was well tolerated,
with only sexual side effects reported
significantly more often by subjects receiving sertraline
than those receiving placebo.
Conclusion: Despite the relatively small
between-group differences, study findings suggest
a role for sertraline in the acute treatment of GAD.