The reviewers extracted the data independently. Authors of relevant trials were contacted for additional and missing data. Absence of treatment response as defined by authors was the main measure of outcome used. Patients treated on TCA were more likely to report adverse events, comparing with placebo. Drugs are effective in the treatment of dysthymia with no differences between and within class of drugs.
Tricyclic antidepressants are more likely to cause adverse events and dropouts.
Although dysthymia is a chronic condition, there remains little information on quality of life and medium or long-term outcome.