The Effect of Lurasidone on Anxiety Symptoms in Patients With Bipolar Depression: A Post Hoc Analysis

To assess the effects of lurasidone on anxiety symptoms and sleep disruption, and their moderating and mediating roles on treatment response in bipolar depression.

This post hoc analysis included pooled data from 2 previously published 6-week placebo-controlled trials of lurasidone for bipolar I depression conducted between April 2009 and February 2012. Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) "psychic anxiety" (items 1-6, 14) and "somatic anxiety" (items 7-13) subscores were calculated. Functional outcome was assessed by the Sheehan Disability Scale.

All subjects (n = 824) had at least 1 psychic anxiety and 729 (88.5%) had at least 1 somatic anxiety symptom at baseline. 594 subjects (72.1%) experienced baseline sleep disturbance. Lurasidone, as monotherapy (20-60 mg/d and 80-120 mg/d pooled dose groups vs placebo) and adjunctive therapy (20 to 120 mg/d flexibly dosed vs placebo) with lithium or valproate, significantly reduced HAM-A psychic anxiety (-4.82 vs -2.97, P < .001, monotherapy; -5.56 vs -4.26, P = .009, adjunctive therapy) and somatic anxiety (-1.89 vs -1.37, P = .048, monotherapy; -2.22 vs -1.47, P = .006, adjunctive therapy) subcomponents. Improvement in anxiety symptoms mediated reduction in depressive symptoms and functional impairment. Decrease in sleep at baseline predicted change in anxiety symptoms with lurasidone treatment at week 6.

Lurasidone was superior to placebo in reducing psychic and somatic anxiety in the short-term treatment of bipolar depression. Improvement in depressive symptoms and reduction in functional impairment were associated with reduction in anxiety symptoms moderated by baseline sleep disturbance during lurasidone treatment.

ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers: NCT00868699 and NCT00868452.