A Randomized Controlled Trial of Sertraline for the Treatment of Depression in Persons With Traumatic Brain Injury

  • Teresa A. Ashman
  • , Joshua B. Cantor
  • , Wayne A. Gordon
  • , Lisa Spielman
  • , Steve Flanagan
  • , Annika Ginsberg
  • , Clara Engmann
  • , Matthew Egan
  • , Felicia Ambrose
  • , Brian Greenwald

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

135 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ashman TA, Cantor JB, Gordon WA, Spielman L, Flanagan S, Ginsberg A, Engmann C, Egan M, Ambrose F, Greenwald B. A randomized controlled trial of sertraline for the treatment of depression in persons with traumatic brain injury. Objective: To examine the efficacy of sertraline in the treatment of depression after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design: Double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Setting: Research center at a major urban medical center. Participants: Subjects were a referred and volunteer sample of 52 participants with TBI, a diagnosis of major depression disorder (MDD), and a score on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) of 18 or greater. The majority of the sample was male (58%), had less than 14 years of education (73%), had incomes below $20,000 (82%), and were from minority backgrounds (75%). Approximately one third of the sample had mild brain injuries, and two thirds had moderate to severe brain injuries. The mean age was 47±11, and the mean time since injury was 17±14 years. One participant withdrew from the study because of side effects. Intervention: Daily oral sertraline in doses starting at 25mg and increasing to therapeutic levels (up to 200mg) or placebo for 10 weeks. Main Outcome Measures: The HAM-D, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Life-3 quality of life (QOL). Results: No statistically significant differences were found at baseline between drug and placebo groups on baseline measures of depression (24.8±7.3 vs 27.7±7.0), anxiety (16.4±12.3 vs 24.0±14.9), or QOL (2.96±1.0 vs 2.9±0.9). The income level of those receiving placebo was significantly lower than those participants receiving medication. Analyses of covariance revealed significant changes from preintervention to posttreatment for all 3 outcome measures (P<.001) but no group effects. Random-effects modeling did not find any significant difference in patterns of scores of the outcome measures between the placebo and medication groups. Conclusions: Both groups showed improvements in mood, anxiety, and QOL, with 59% of the experimental group and 32% of the placebo group responding to the treatment, defined as a reduction of a person's HAM-D score by 50%.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)733-740
Number of pages8
JournalArchives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume90
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009

Keywords

  • Anxiety
  • Brain injuries
  • Depression
  • Minority groups
  • Randomized controlled trials [publication type]
  • Rehabilitation
  • Sertraline

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
  • Rehabilitation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A Randomized Controlled Trial of Sertraline for the Treatment of Depression in Persons With Traumatic Brain Injury'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this