The effects of chlordiazepoxide on self-rated depression, anxiety, and well-being

The main purpose of this study was to compare sensitivity of several self-rating scales to drug effects in anxious and depressed patients. Twenty-two distressed nonpsychotic outpatients completed a double-blind crossover trial of chlordiazepoxide and placebo. All self-rating scales of depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms, and feelings of inadequacy discriminated significantly between chlordiazepoxide and placebo. The decrease in self-rated depression was about equal to the decrease in self-rated anxiety. Subscales describing well-being were more sensitive to drug effects than subscales describing symptoms. A questionnaire (The Symptom Questionnaire) and one of the self-rating scales (Symptom Rating Test) were more sensitive than global self-rating scales, global observer-rating scales, and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale. Some of the self-rating scales discriminated significantly between drug and placebo even when the sample size was reduced to two subsamples of eight patients each. High and significant positive correlations between two scales did not indicate equal sensitivity in discriminating between drug and placebo.