SynthesisBMC psychiatry2023
Escitalopram versus other antidepressive agents for major depressive disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC psychiatry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and influencing factors of acupuncture in major depressive disorder: a systematic review and exploratory network meta-analysis.CNS spectrums · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors citalopram and escitalopram on glucolipid metabolism: a systematic review.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy and Safety of Escitalopram in Alleviating Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in COPD Patients: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2026Trial
- Reprocessing Mass Spectra from Therapeutic Drug Monitoring to Unveil Proton Pump Inhibitor Use and Quantify Phenoconversion of Escitalopram Metabolism in CYP2C19-Genotyped Patients.Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2026Article
- Clinical Efficacy Study of Escitalopram Combined With Low-Frequency Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Patients With Post-Ischemic Stroke Depression and Anxiety.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2026Article
- Adverse effects of escitalopram and vortioxetine in young patients with depression: a retrospective comparative study.Journal of pharmaceutical health care and sciences · 2026Article
- FGF13 alleviates astrocytic apoptosis via JIP2 inhibition in the hippocampus and mitigates depression-like behavior.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Article
- Application of escitalopram population pharmacokinetic repository: a step to precision dosing.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Role of neural oscillations in depression: highlights on gamma oscillations.Translational psychiatry · 2026Review
- A comparative analysis of vortioxetine vs. escitalopram on the clinical profile of patients with major depressive disorder.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2026Article
- Deep learning using electroencephalogram (EEG) data for diagnosing and predicting SSRI response in major depressive disorder.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- The potential role of ANXA11/ANXA3 protein level ratio in predicting antidepressant treatment outcomes.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- Article
- Comparative Analysis of Antidepressant Mechanisms and Side Effects: Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Study of Amitriptyline, Mirtazapine, and Escitalopram for Treating Major Depressive Disorder.Depression and anxiety · 2026Article
- Galantamine as add-on therapy to escitalopram: enhancing antidepressant therapeutic potential via. Targeting α7nAChR/BDNF/KYN signalling.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Relationship between hippocampal volume and treatment response before and after escitalopram administration in patients with depression.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of rTMS compared to SSRI as early treatment of depression - study protocol of a randomized controlled trial (Early-TMS).European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of a pharmacist-led tele-psychiatric clinic in managing drug-related problems.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2025Article
- Third-degree atrioventricular block induced by escitalopram and quetiapine in a patient with depression: a case report.American journal of translational research · 2025Article
- The role of gut microbiota and metabolomic pathways in modulating the efficacy of SSRIs for major depressive disorder.Translational psychiatry · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEscitalopram is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and one of the most commonly prescribed newer antidepressants (ADs) worldwide. We aimed to explore the efficacy, acceptability and tolerability of escitalopram in comparison with other ADs in the acute-phase treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD).
methodsMedline/PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and Clinical Trials.gov were searched from inception to July 10, 2023. Trial databases of drug-approving agencies were hand-searched for published, unpublished and ongoing controlled trials. All randomized controlled trials comparing escitalopram against any other antidepressant for patients with MDD. Responders and remitters to treatment were calculated on an intention-to-treat basis. For dichotomous data, risk ratios (RRs) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Continuous data were analyzed using standardized mean differences (with 95% CI) using the random effects model.
resultsA total of 30 studies were included in this meta‑analysis, among which sixteen trials compared escitalopram with another SSRI and 14 compared escitalopram with a newer AD. Escitalopram was shown to be significantly more effective than citalopram in achieving acute response (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.50-0.87). Escitalopram was also more effective than citalopram in terms of remission (RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.30-0.93).
conclusionsEscitalopram was superior to other ADs for the acute phase treatment of MDD in terms of efficacy, acceptability and tolerability. However, no significant difference was found between escitalopram and other ADs in early response or follow-up response to treatment of MDD.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.