Clinical messages from the Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS).

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this report was to summarize the key clinical messages from the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS).

METHODS

TADS is a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the relative effectiveness of fluoxetine, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and the combination of fluoxetine plus CBT across acute treatment, maintenance treatment, and naturalistic follow-up periods among adolescents with major depressive disorder.

RESULTS

Findings revealed that 6 to 9 months of combined fluoxetine plus CBT should be the modal treatment from a public health perspective as well as to maximize benefits and minimize harms for individual patients.

CONCLUSION

The combination of fluoxetine and CBT appears to be superior to both CBT monotherapy and fluoxetine monotherapy as a treatment for moderate to severe major depressive disorder in adolescents.