Review, 2000
Do antidepressants work differently for women, and can they help PMDD?
This expert review suggests newer antidepressants (SSRIs) may work better than older ones in women and may help premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), including when taken only in part of the cycle, but it is an opinion piece summarising other research, not a new trial.
What they did
This is an expert opinion review article, not a new study with patients. It looks back at decades of research on antidepressants and women's mood disorders, including PMDD, postpartum depression and depression around menopause.
What they found
SSRIs appeared more effective than older tricyclic antidepressants in women. SSRIs helped PMDD, including taken only during the luteal (second) half of the cycle. Treatments that were not antidepressants were generally found less effective. All SSRIs except sertraline can raise prolactin, which can cause missed periods and bone loss; sertraline avoids this and may help sleep and memory. Fluoxetine and sertraline had data supporting safe use in early pregnancy.
What it means for you
This suggests SSRIs, possibly timed to the luteal phase, could be useful for PMDD, and sertraline may carry fewer hormone-related risks than other SSRIs. But this is a review of existing literature and expert opinion, not a controlled study, so it cannot prove these effects, only summarise prior reports.
half-century
Time since SSRIs introduced
About the study
- Original title
- Women's issues in mood disorders
- Authors
- Goodnick PJ, Chaudry T, Artadi J et al.
- Journal
- Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy
- Year
- 2000
- Study design
- Review
- What was tested
- SSRIs compared with older tricyclic antidepressants, including luteal-phase (second half of cycle) dosing for PMDD
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1517/14656566.1.5.903
Topics
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