Improved Health‐Related Quality of Life with SSRIs and other Antidepressants

Abstract

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To document the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of depressed patients receiving antidepressant drugs. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Community pharmacy-based setting. PATIENTS: Fifty-seven depressed patients. INTERVENTION: Independent pharmacist members of the Community Pharmacists Research Network in Georgia administered the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) to subjects. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Sixty-one percent of patients were treated with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and 38.6% were treated with a non-SSRI. Those receiving SSRIs scored higher on the mean physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) health summary scores of the SF-36 than those not receiving the drugs. No significant differences were seen in PCS or MCS scores of men and women. CONCLUSION: Community pharmacists documented better HRQOL in patients receiving SSRIs than in those given other antidepressants.