Antidepressants and inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review

A number of studies have suggested a link between the patient's psyche and the course of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Although pharmacotherapy with antidepressants has not been widely explored, some investigators have proposed that treating psychological co-morbidities with antidepressants...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health 2006-09, Vol.2 (1), p.24-24
Main Authors: Mikocka-Walus, Antonina A, Turnbull, Deborah A, Moulding, Nicole T, Wilson, Ian G, Andrews, Jane M, Holtmann, Gerald J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Review
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A number of studies have suggested a link between the patient's psyche and the course of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Although pharmacotherapy with antidepressants has not been widely explored, some investigators have proposed that treating psychological co-morbidities with antidepressants may help to control disease activity. To date a systematic analysis of the available studies assessing the efficacy of antidepressants for the control of somatic symptoms in IBD patients has not been performed. We searched electronic databases, without any language restriction. All relevant papers issued after 1990 were examined. 12 relevant publications were identified. All of them referred to non-randomised studies. Antidepressants reported in these publications included paroxetine, bupropion, amitriptyline, phenelzine, and mirtazapine. In 10 articles, paroxetine, bupropion, and phenelzine were suggested to be effective for treating both psychological and somatic symptoms in patients suffering from IBD. Amitriptyline was found ineffective for treating somatic symptoms of IBD. Mirtazapine was not recommended for IBD patients. Although most of reviewed papers suggest a beneficial effect of treatment with antidepressants in patients with IBD, due to the lack of reliable data, it is impossible to judge the efficacy of antidepressants in IBD. Properly designed trials are justified and needed based upon the available uncontrolled data.
ISSN:1745-0179
1745-0179
DOI:10.1186/1745-0179-2-24