Summaries of Must-Read Clinical Literature, Guidelines, and FDA Actions
Antidepressants Effective for People with HIV/AIDS
J Affect Disord; ePub 2017 Mar 19; Mills, Harman, et al
Single-action and dual-action antidepressants are equally effective in treating people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), according to a recent study. Remission was uncommon, highlighting the need to identify health service delivery strategies that aid HIV providers in achieving full remission of their patients’ depression. Researchers used data from the Centers for AIDS Research Network of Integrated Clinic Systems to identify 1,175 new user dual-action or single-action antidepressant treatment episodes occurring from 2005–2014 for PLWHA diagnosed with depression. They found:
- In intent-to-treat analysis, 32% of the episodes ended in remission for both dual-action and single-action antidepressants.
- The odds ratio of remission was 1.02.
- In per protocol analysis, 40% of dual-action episodes ended in remission compared to 32% in single-action episodes.
- Dual-action episodes had 1.33 times the odds of remission, however, the result was not statistically significant.
- Non-significant differences were also observed for depressive symptom severity.
Mills JC, Harman JS, Cook RL, et al. Comparative effectiveness of dual-action versus single-action antidepressants for the treatment of depression in people living with HIV/AIDS. [Published online ahead of print March 19, 2017]. J Affect Disord. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2017.03.042.