Anxiety and depressive neurosis - their response to anxiolytic and antidepressant treatment

A total of 90 patients including 30 patients of generalized anxiety disorder and 30 of dysthymic disorder according to DSM III criteria plus 30 patients of mixed anxiety-depressive disorder were given a detailed psychiatric evaluation and four rating scales were made for measuring the level of anxiety and depression at intake and to record their improvement with treatment. Half the subjects in each group were randomly selected for treatment with imipramine and the other half with diazepam. Imipramine and diazepam were found to be equally effective (62.8% vs 62.2%) in reducing anxiety in all subjects. Imipramine was significantly better than diazepam in reducing the level of depression in the depressed group but as effective as diazepam in the other two groups. Imipramine was significantly better for the symptoms of 'depressed mood' and 'retardation', while diazepam was better in the symptom of 'fears'. None of the other symptoms was discriminatory.