The comparison of three selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for adolescent depression

Background: Major depression is a common psychiatric disorder among children, adolescents, and adults that affects the daily functioning. In this study, we aim to determine the efficacy and tolerability of three medications that frequently use in the treatment of adolescent depression. Methods: A total of 432 adolescents with documented DSM-5 major depression diagnosis was included to the study. Clinical characteristics of the sample were retrospectively obtained from the medical records and structured psychiatric interviews. Improvement was assessed with Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and Clinical Global Impression-Improvement Scale (CGI-I) and side effects were examined with the adverse effect scale developed by the authors. Results: Mean age of the patients was 14.11±1.75. 34.1% of adolescents were male and 65.9% were female. 38.0% of the patients were using fluoxetine, 43.3% were using sertraline, and 18.7% were using citalopram. The CGI-I and CDI scores were significantly different between the three groups. There was no significance in terms of treatment compliance. Stomach ache and aggressionirritability were meaningfully different between the groups. Conclusions: Citalopram appears to be less effective than fluoxetine and sertraline. Fluoxetine and sertraline seem to show similar effectiveness. Sertraline may be associated with less side effects and may be the most appropriate treatment for adolescent depression.