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Duloxetine and care management treatment of older adults with comorbid major depressive disorder and chronic low back pain: results of an open‐label pilot study
Author(s) -
Karp Jordan F.,
Weiner Debra K.,
Dew Mary A.,
Begley Amy,
Miller Mark D.,
Reynolds Charles F.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.2386
Subject(s) - duloxetine , quality of life (healthcare) , depression (economics) , anxiety , medicine , major depressive disorder , chronic pain , montgomery–åsberg depression rating scale , psychiatry , physical therapy , mcgill pain questionnaire , psychology , mood , visual analogue scale , alternative medicine , nursing , pathology , economics , macroeconomics
Objective In older adults, major depressive disorder (MDD) and chronic low back pain (CLBP) are common and mutually exacerbating. We predicted that duloxetine pharmacotherapy and Depression and Pain Care Management (DPCM) would result in (1) significant improvement in MDD and CLBP and (2) significant improvements in health‐related quality of life, anxiety, disability, self‐efficacy, and sleep quality. Design and Intervention Twelve week open‐label study using duloxetine up to 120 mg/day + DPCM. Setting Outpatient late‐life depression research clinic. Patients Thirty community‐dwelling adults > 60 years old. Outcome Measures Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and McGill Pain Questionnaire‐Short Form (MPQ‐SF). Results 46.7% ( n = 14) of the sample had a depression remission. All subjects who met criteria for the depression remission also had a pain response. 93.3% ( n = 28) had a significant pain response. Of the subjects who met criteria for a low back pain response, 50% ( n = 14) also met criteria for the depression remission. The mean time to depression remission was 7.6 (SE = 0.6) weeks. The mean time to pain response was 2.8 (SE = 0.5) weeks. There were significant improvements in mental health‐related quality of life, anxiety, sleep quality, somatic complaints, and both self‐efficacy for pain management and for coping with symptoms. Physical health‐related quality of life, back pain‐related disability, and self‐efficacy for physical functioning did not improve. Conclusions Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors like duloxetine delivered with DPCM may be a good choice to treat these linked conditions in older adults. Treatments that target low self‐efficacy for physical function and improving disability may further increase response rates. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.