Efficacy of N-acetylcysteine for patients with depression: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis

IF 4.1 2区医学 Q1 PSYCHIATRY

General hospital psychiatry Pub Date : 2024-11-01 DOI:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2024.10.018

Tzu-Rong Peng , Hung-Hong Lin , Tzu-Ling Tseng , Yun-Hui Huang , Pei-Yun Tsai , Chia-Yu Lin , Ming-Chia Lee , Shih-Ming Chen

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Results on whether N-acetylcysteine (NAC) ameliorates depression in patients with psychiatric problems, such as bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder, remain inconsistent, and several new studies have recently been published. Thus, we conducted an uptodated meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of NAC against depression.

Methods

This systematic review and meta-analysis included randomized controlled trials where NAC was used to treat depression. The present study adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. PubMed, Embase (Ovid), and Cochrane were searched for relevant articles. A random-effects model was used to evaluate the primary outcome—efficacy of NAC in ameliorating depression.

Results

This review included 12 studies (904 patients with depression). The daily dose of NAC in the included studies ranged from 1000 to 3000 mg. The duration of NAC treatment ranged from 8 to 24 weeks. A significant difference was noted between NAC and placebo in terms of the change in mean depression score from baseline to treatment conclusion (standardized mean difference = −0.24; 95 % confidence interval (CI) = −0.44 to −0.05; I² = 45 %; P = .02).

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that adjunctive NAC can ameliorate depressive symptoms in patients with psychiatric problems, particularly bipolar disorder. However, large-scale clinical trials were needed to substantiate our results due to the wide CI value.

查看原文本刊更多论文

N-乙酰半胱氨酸对抑郁症患者的疗效：最新系统综述和荟萃分析。

背景：关于N-乙酰半胱氨酸（NAC）是否能改善双相情感障碍和重度抑郁障碍等精神疾病患者的抑郁状况的研究结果仍不一致，最近发表了几项新的研究。因此，我们进行了一项最新的荟萃分析，以评估 NAC 对抑郁症的疗效：本系统综述和荟萃分析纳入了使用 NAC 治疗抑郁症的随机对照试验。本研究遵循了《系统综述和荟萃分析首选报告项目》指南。研究人员检索了 PubMed、Embase (Ovid) 和 Cochrane 上的相关文章。采用随机效应模型评估 NAC 在改善抑郁症方面的主要结果-疗效：本综述包括 12 项研究（904 名抑郁症患者）。纳入研究的 NAC 每日剂量从 1000 毫克到 3000 毫克不等。NAC 的治疗时间从 8 周到 24 周不等。就从基线到治疗结束的平均抑郁评分变化而言，NAC与安慰剂之间存在明显差异（标准化平均差异 = -0.24；95 % 置信区间 (CI) = -0.44 至 -0.05；I2 = 45 %；P = .02）：我们的研究结果表明，辅助 NAC 可以改善精神病患者的抑郁症状，尤其是躁郁症患者。然而，由于CI值较宽，需要进行大规模临床试验来证实我们的结果。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

General hospital psychiatry 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

9.60

自引率

2.90%

发文量

125

审稿时长

20 days

期刊介绍： General Hospital Psychiatry explores the many linkages among psychiatry, medicine, and primary care. In emphasizing a biopsychosocial approach to illness and health, the journal provides a forum for professionals with clinical, academic, and research interests in psychiatry''s role in the mainstream of medicine.