Pharmacologic treatment of postpartum women with new-onset major depressive disorder: a randomized controlled trial with paroxetine.

OBJECTIVE

Approximately 6% to 8% of postpartum women suffer from major depressive disorder (MDD), but only a few controlled trials have investigated the efficacy of pharmacologic treatments. The current study determined the relative efficacy of paroxetine compared to placebo in the treatment of acute postpartum MDD.

METHOD

This was an 8-week, multicenter, parallel, placebo-controlled trial of paroxetine for treatment of postpartum depression. Subjects were eligible if they had an onset of DSM-IV MDD after, but within 3 months of, delivery and had a minimum score of 16 on the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D-17) at intake. Seventy women were randomly assigned to either immediate-release paroxetine or matching placebo, and 31 completed the trial. Subjects were reassessed with the HAM-D-17, the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self-Report (IDS-SR) form and the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scales. The study was conducted between 1997 and 2004.

RESULTS

Both groups improved over time and did not differ significantly on the HAM-D-17 or IDS-SR at follow-up. However, greater improvement in overall mean +/- SD clinical severity was found for the paroxetine (Clinical Global Impressions-Severity of Illness [CGI-S] score = 1.8 +/- 1.4) compared with the control group (CGI-S score = 3.1 +/- 1.4; p = .05). The paroxetine group also had a significantly higher rate of remission, compared to the placebo group (37% vs. 15%, odds ratio = 3.5, 95% CI = 1.1 to 11.5). The rate of adverse effects did not differ significantly between groups.

CONCLUSION

Study results were limited by lower than expected enrollment and higher than anticipated attrition. Nonetheless, paroxetine treatment was associated with a significantly higher rate of remission among women with postpartum onset of MDD.