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Is sertraline treatment or depression remission in depressed Alzheimer patients associated with improved caregiver well being? Depression in Alzheimer's Disease Study 2
Flynn Longmire CV, Drye LT, Frangakis CE, Martin BK, Meinert CL, Mintzer JE, Munro CA, Porsteinsson AP et al.. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2014-01-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective We wanted to assess if sertraline treatment (versus placebo) or remission of depression at 12 weeks (versus nonremission) in Alzheimer patients is associated with improved caregiver well being. Methods We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of the efficacy and safety of sertraline for the treatment of depression in individuals with Alzheimer disease in five clinical research sites across the United States. Participants were caregivers of patients enrolled in the Depression in Alzheimer's Disease Study 2 (N = 131). All caregivers received standardized psychosocial support throughout the study. Caregiver outcome measures included depression (Beck Depression Inventory), distress (Neuropsychiatric Inventory), burden (Zarit Burden Interview), and quality of life (Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Health Survey). Results Fifty-nine percent of caregivers were spouses, 63.4% were women, and 64.1% were white. Caregivers of patients in both treatment groups had significant reductions in distress scores over the 24-week study period, but there was not a greater benefit for caregivers of patients taking sertraline. However, caregivers of patients whose depression was in remission at week 12 had greater declines in distress scores over the 24 weeks than caregivers of patients whose depression did not remit by week 12. Conclusion Patient treatment with sertraline was not associated with significantly greater reductions in caregiver distress than placebo treatment. Distress but not level of depression or burden lessened for all caregivers regardless of remission status and even more so for those who cared for patients whose depression remitted. Results imply an interrelationship between caregiver distress and patient psychiatric outcomes.
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APA 7th
Flynn Longmire, C. V., Drye, L. T., Frangakis, C. E., Martin, B. K., Meinert, C. L., Mintzer, J. E., et al. (2014). Is sertraline treatment or depression remission in depressed Alzheimer patients associated with improved caregiver well being? Depression in Alzheimer's Disease Study 2. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2013.02.014
Vancouver
Flynn Longmire CV, Drye LT, Frangakis CE, Martin BK, Meinert CL, Mintzer JE, et al. Is sertraline treatment or depression remission in depressed Alzheimer patients associated with improved caregiver well being? Depression in Alzheimer's Disease Study 2. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. 2014. doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2013.02.014. PMID: 24314887.
BibTeX
@article{flynnlongmire2014-24314887,
author = {Flynn Longmire, C. V. and Drye, L. T. and Frangakis, C. E. and Martin, B. K. and Meinert, C. L. and Mintzer, J. E. and Munro, C. A. and Porsteinsson, A. P. and others},
title = {{Is sertraline treatment or depression remission in depressed Alzheimer patients associated with improved caregiver well being? Depression in Alzheimer's Disease Study 2}},
journal = {The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1016/j.jagp.2013.02.014},
pmid = {24314887},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2013.02.014}
}
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Key findings
- Objective We wanted to assess if sertraline treatment (versus placebo) or remission of depression at 12 weeks (versus nonremission) in Alzheimer patients is associated with improved caregiver well being.
- Results Fifty-nine percent of caregivers were spouses, 63.4% were women, and 64.1% were white.
- Caregivers of patients in both treatment groups had significant reductions in distress scores over the 24-week study period, but there was not a greater benefit for caregivers of patients taking sertraline.
- Conclusion Patient treatment with sertraline was not associated with significantly greater reductions in caregiver distress than placebo treatment.
- Results imply an interrelationship between caregiver distress and patient psychiatric outcomes.
Why it matters
Sertraline did not give caregivers greater benefit than placebo, though caregivers of patients whose depression went into remission had greater reductions in distress. This concerns caregiver wellbeing in depressed Alzheimer's patients, not treating or preventing the disease itself.
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Study details
- Participants131
- Effect size63.4%; 64.1%
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 58/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomized controlled trial.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: journal h-index 178 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomized controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2014 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 131 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomized / blinded | 2 / 2 | Randomized and blinded or placebo-controlled (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 6 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.4 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 0.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Constantine George Lyketsos: h-index 130 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Johns Hopkins University: institution h-index 2,306 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 8 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 24314887) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 58 / 100 | — |
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