Depressive disorders in people older than 65 years seem to be a serious medical and social problem in many countries. The aim of the study was to evaluate efficiency and safety of citalopram and venlafaxine in treatment of depression in elderly patients.
Material and methods: 89 elderly patients with a serious depressive episode were involved in the study. Observation was carried out for 42 days. The clinical state of patients was assessed by Hamilton rating scale (HAM-D), a geriatric depressive scale (GDS) and a clinical general impression scale (CGI). Cognitive functions were examined by Mini-Mental scale. 44 patients took citalopram, and 45 patients took venlafaxine.
Results: On the 42nd day of treatment, citalopram therapy appeared successful in 34 (77.3%) patients, while venlafaxine therapy was successful in 30 (66.6%) patients. Citalopram was significantly more efficient than venlafaxine during the first 21 and 28 days of treatment. Neither drug caused disturbances of cognitive functions in the examined groups.
Conclusions: 1. Citalopram and venlafaxine are similarly efficient in treatment of depressive disorders and are well tolerated by elderly patients. 2. The onset of therapeutic activity of citalopram is potentially faster in depressive patients older than 65 years.