RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbance is a common complaint in major depressive disorder (MDD) including impairment of both subjective and objective parameters. All antidepressants affect sleep architecture and quality. AIM: This trial was designed to compare the effects of short-term use of citalopram with fluoxetine on sleep quality (SQ) of patients with MDD based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders - Text Revision 4th edition (DSM-IV-TR) criteria. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients who met the study criteria entered this open-label study. Sleep quality and depression severity were evaluated by using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), respectively. Patients could not have received any antidepressant for at least one month prior entering the study. Subjects were assigned to receive either fluoxetine or citalopram for 8 weeks. The relationships between SQ and severity of depression were also studied at weeks 4 and 8. Data was analyzed by using SPSS 11.5 version. RESULTS: Nineteen patients received fluoxetine 20-40 mg/day and 21 received citalopram 20-40 mg/day. After 4 and 8 weeks treatment with both fluoxetine and citalopram, significant improvements in SQ were noted in both groups. However, no significant difference between the two groups was observed. Additionally, a significant and positive correlation between improvements in SQ and depression was noted after 8 weeks treatment with citalopram but not with fluoxetine. CONCLUSIONS: This study noted that both citalopram and fluoxetine improved SQ in outpatients with MDD after 8 weeks without any significant difference between the 2 groups.