However , mirtazapine showed effectiveness in treating depression , anxiety , sleep disorders , emesis and neuropathic pain .
Across all studies , mirtazapine is safe to use , with drowsiness and dizziness the most common side-effects .
Cancer patients often experience multiple distressing symptoms which are challenging to manage .
It would therefore be helpful to find a treatment that alleviates more than one symptom , to avoid polypharmacy : mirtazapine has been used in several studies for this purpose .
The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness and safety of mirtazapine in alleviating one or more frequently encountered cancer-related symptoms .
Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety and Depression Scale: Initial Validation in Three Clinical Trials
Objective We examine the reliability and validity of the Patient Health Question naire Anxiety and Depression Scale (PHQ-ADS)—which combines the nine-item Patient Health Question naire depression scale and seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale — as a composite measure of depression and anxiety . Methods Baseline data from 896 patients enrolled in two primary -care based trials of chronic pain and one oncology- practice –based trial of depression and pain were analyzed . The internal reliability , st and ard error of measurement , and convergent , construct , and factor structure validity , as well as sensitivity to change of the PHQ-ADS were examined . Results The PHQ-ADS demonstrated high internal reliability ( Cronbach & agr ; values of .8 to .9 ) in all three trials . PHQ-ADS scores can range from 0 to 48 ( with higher scores indicating more severe depression/anxiety ) , and the estimated st and ard error of measurement was approximately 3 to 4 points . The PHQ-ADS showed strong convergent ( most correlations , 0.7–0.8 range ) and construct ( most correlations , 0.4–0.6 range ) validity when examining its association with other mental health , quality of life , and disability measures . PHQ-ADS cutpoints of 10 , 20 , and 30 indicated mild , moderate , and severe levels of depression/anxiety , respectively . Bifactor analysis showed sufficient unidimensionality of the PHQ-ADS score . PHQ-ADS change scores at 3 months differentiated ( p < .0001 ) between individuals classified as worse , stable , or improved by a reference measure , providing preliminary evidence for sensitivity to change . Conclusions The PHQ-ADS may be a reliable and valid composite measure of depression and anxiety which , if vali date d in other population s , could be useful as a single measure for jointly assessing two of the most common psychological conditions in clinical practice and research . Trial Registration : Clinical trials.gov Identifier : NCT00926588 ( SCOPE ) ; NCT00386243 ( ESCAPE ) ; NCT00313573 ( INCPAD )
However , mirtazapine showed effectiveness in treating depression , anxiety , sleep disorders , emesis and neuropathic pain .
Across all studies , mirtazapine is safe to use , with drowsiness and dizziness the most common side-effects .
Cancer patients often experience multiple distressing symptoms which are challenging to manage .
It would therefore be helpful to find a treatment that alleviates more than one symptom , to avoid polypharmacy : mirtazapine has been used in several studies for this purpose .
The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness and safety of mirtazapine in alleviating one or more frequently encountered cancer-related symptoms .