Comparing the Efficacy of Fluvoxamine and Sertraline in Treating Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common psychiatric disorder that 16. 2 of population in developed countries experience it at least once in their lifetime; it is a major cause of social disability according to WHO reports. This study was designed to compare the efficacy of fluvoxamine and sertraline in treating major depressive disorder.

During this randomized clinical trial، 110 patients with certain diagnosis of major depressive disorder were divided in two parallel groups: fluvoxamine 200 mg daily and sertraline 100 mg daily. Beck test was done before and after intervention and the data were analyzed by chi-square and independent-sample t tests.

58 patients (52. 72%) received fluvoxamine and 52 (47. 28%) received sertraline. Fluvoxamine had better therapeutic effects than sertraline (P = 0. 002). Although، women (P = 0. 007) and age group of 43-67 years (P = 0. 015) had better response to fluvoxamine.

According to current findings، it is recommended that gender and age group be noticed in administrating the selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI) drugs in patients with major depressive disorder.