The effects of antipsychotic drugs on depression level in patients with schizophrenia: clozapine vs. other atypical antipsychotics

Abstract

Introduction: Depressive symptoms may occur in all stages of schizophrenia disorder. Clozapine is the only antipsychotic that has been demonstrated superior efficacy in schizophrenia and suicidal ideation. The aim of this study is to evaluate depressive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia treated with clozapine and to compare with treated with other atypical antipsychotics.Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on patients with schizophrenia according to DSM-IV-TR between December 2012 and May 2013. All participants were evaluated for demographic characteristics and points of Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Positive, Negative Syndrome Scale, and Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia.Results: A total 23.6% (n = 13) patients treated with clozapine, while 76.4% (n = 42) patients were treated with other antipsychotic drugs. 23.1% (n = 3) of patients taking clozapine were women, 76.9% (n = 10) were male. The mean age of patients treated with clozapine was 43.0 ± 11.2. The level of depression of patients treated with clozapine was 15.4% (n = 2). No statistically significant difference was found between patients between treated with clozapine and other antipsychotics regarding age, sex, marital status, education years, work history, age at onset of disease, depression and history of suicide attemptConclusion: As a result of this study it is found that clozapine did not effect on the level of depression in patients with schizophrenia, and depression level of patients with schizophrenia treated with clozapine had no difference from patients treated with other antipsychotics.

Keywords

• atypical antipsychotics
• clozapine
• depression
• schizophrenia
• atipik antipsikotikler
• depresyon
• klozapin
• şizofreni