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Preliminary support for gender differences in response to fluoxetine for generalized anxiety disorder
Author(s) -
Simon Naomi M.,
Zalta Alyson K.,
Worthington III John J.,
Hoge Elizabeth A.,
Christian Kelly M.,
Stevens Julie C.,
Pollack Mark H.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
depression and anxiety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.634
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6394
pISSN - 1091-4269
DOI - 10.1002/da.20184
Subject(s) - fluoxetine , anxiety , post hoc analysis , generalized anxiety disorder , psychology , comorbidity , psychiatry , anxiety disorder , clinical psychology , clinical global impression , mood , medicine , placebo , serotonin , receptor , alternative medicine , pathology
Women have a higher prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) than do men, but few studies have assessed gender differences in response to pharmacotherapy. In this study we examined gender as a correlate of response to 6 weeks of open, prospective fluoxetine treatment in 23 men and 22 women with a primary diagnosis of GAD. There was no difference by gender in age or prevalence of mood and anxiety comorbidity; however, GAD onset occurred at a significantly younger age in women compared with men. Despite a lack of difference in baseline severity measures, women had a significantly poorer response to fluoxetine as measured by both the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM‐A) and Clinician Global Impression—Severity Scale (CGI‐S). In multivariate analyses, there was a significant interaction between age of onset and gender: men with younger age of onset and women with older age of onset exhibited poorer response on the HAM‐A. These data, though limited in sample size and by the post hoc nature of our analyses, offer preliminary support that women with GAD, particularly those with a later age of onset, may have a poorer response to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine. Larger placebo‐controlled trials are needed to more definitively examine gender and treatment response in anxiety disorders. Depression and Anxiety 23:373–376, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.