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Social adjustment in generalised anxiety disorder: a long-term placebo-controlled study of venlafaxine extended release

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

Patrice Boyer ,
Vincent Mahé  and
David Hackett
Patrice Boyer*
Affiliation:
CNRS UMR 7593, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 47, Boulevard de L’Hôpital, 75651Paris, France
Vincent Mahé
Affiliation:
Service de Psychiatrie, Hôpital General de Meaux, France
David Hackett
Affiliation:
Wyeth Research, Paris, France
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

The objective of this analysis was to evaluate the short- (8 weeks) and long-term (24 weeks) efficacy of three fixed doses of venlafaxine extended release (ER) and placebo on the social adjustment of patients with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). We analysed data from 544 outpatients who participated in a 24-week, double-blind, multicentre, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study conducted at 55 centres in five countries. All patients meet the DSM-IV criteria for GAD and were randomly assigned to receive venlafaxine ER 37.5, 75, and 150 mg or matched placebo administered orally once daily. Social adjustment was measured using the Social Adjustment Scale-Self Report, which explores social adaptation in the areas of work, social and leisure, extended family, primary relationship (marital), parental, and family unit. At baseline, the GAD patients had a high level of social dysfunction. Venlafaxine ER showed a dose-related improvement in social impairment during short-term treatment and in sustaining this improvement over the long-term. In the most severely socially impaired subgroup, placebo remission rates on the HAM-A were low, and the magnitude of the venlafaxine-placebo difference on the mean HAM-A total score was high, reaching more than 7 points. The benefits of venlafaxine ER treatment of GAD extend beyond that of improvement of anxiety symptoms to a significant improvement in the impairment of functioning that is associated with the illness.

Keywords

Generalised anxiety disorderSocial impairmentVenlafaxine
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 19 , Issue 5 , August 2004 , pp. 272 - 279
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 European Psychiatric Association

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