Korean J Psychosom Med.  2020 Jun;28(1):72-80. 10.22722/KJPM.2020.28.1.72.

Comparison of Effect of SSRIs and SNRIs on Depression, Pain and Somatic Symptoms in Elderly Patients with Major Depressive Disorder

• Han EH
• Kim H
• Lee KJ

• KMID: 2503772
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.22722/KJPM.2020.28.1.72

Abstract

Objectives
：The aim of this study was to compare the effect of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) and Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor (SNRI) for mood symptoms, pain, and somatic symptoms in elderly depression patients with pain and somatic symptoms.
Methods
：This study is a prospective open-label study conducted by a single institution. A total of 43 subjects diagnosed with major depressive disorder under the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria participated in this study (average age: 72.53, 58.1% women). The subjects were classified as SSRI and SNRI groups. Depressive symptoms, pain, and somatic symptoms were evaluated by Korean version of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (K-HDRS), visual analogue scale (VAS) and Patient Health Questionnare-15 (PHQ-15) respectively at baseline and six weeks later. Two-way repeated-measure ANOVA was performed to analyze changes in the KHDRS, VAS, and PHQ-15 scores.
Results
：In the SSRI and SNRI groups, K-HDRS, VAS, and PHQ-15 all showed significant improvement after 6 weeks compared to each baseline values. There were no differences in therapeutic effect between the two groups.
Conclusions
：We found that SSRI and SNRI both improved somatic symptoms and pain in elderly depression patients. The results of this study are thought to help select antidepressants when administering medication to elderly depression patients who complain pain and somatic symptoms. Further research is needed on the longterm effects of the SSRI and SNRI.

Keyword

Elderly depression; Somatic symptom; Pain; Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor; Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor