Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40615929›Full record

ArticleJournal of pharmaceutical health care and sciences2025

The effect of sertraline with or without propranolol on panic attacks in women: a controlled clinical trial.

Sahar Rouhzendeh, Zahra Mousavi, Sepideh Mashayekh-Amiri, Elnaz Shaseb, Seyedeh Tahereh Mirmolaei, Mojgan Mirghafourvand

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of pharmaceutical health care and sciences, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Sahar RouhzendehStudent Research Committee, Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Zahra MousaviDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Sepideh Mashayekh-AmiriDepartment of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.
Elnaz ShasebDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Seyedeh Tahereh MirmolaeiReproductive Health Research Center, Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mojgan MirghafourvandSocial Determinants of Health Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. mirghafourvand@gmail.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe use of propranolol in the treatment of panic attacks has historically been widespread. However, there is insufficient precise evidence regarding the combination of propranolol with sertraline in this context. Panic attacks are a common health issue among women, significantly affecting their personal and social lives. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of sertraline, with or without propranolol, on the severity of panic attack symptoms and depressive symptoms.

methodsThis randomized controlled clinical trial included 60 women who attended a specialized university clinic in Tabriz. Participants were randomly assigned to either the sertraline with propranolol group (n = 30) or the sertraline with propranolol placebo group (n = 30) using block randomization method. Both groups received drugs for four weeks. Data were collected using the Panic Disorder Severity Scale- Self-Report (PDSS-SR) and the Beck Depression Inventory-Short Form (BDI-13). The Mann-Whitney U test was employed to compare outcomes between the two groups, and Wilcoxon tests were used for within-group comparisons.

resultsSamples were enrolled from July 22, 2024, to February 11, 2025. The two groups exhibited no statistically significant differences in sociodemographic characteristics (p > 0.05). After the intervention, the mean score for the severity of panic attack symptoms in the sertraline with propranolol group was 6.6 (SD: 4.4), compared to 13.1 (SD: 5.4) in the sertraline with propranolol placebo group, indicating a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001). Additionally, the mean (SD) post-intervention depression score was 8.9 (4.8) in the sertraline with propranolol group and 15.5 (7.2) in the sertraline with propranolol placebo group, with the sertraline with propranolol group demonstrating a significantly lower mean depression score according to the Mann-Whitney U test (p = 0.001). Within-group comparisons also revealed a significant reduction in the severity scores for both panic attack symptoms and depression in the sertraline with propranolol group (P < 0.001).

conclusionBased on the results of this trial, using propranolol alongside sertraline reduces the severity of panic attacks. Given these promising results, further studies in various settings are recommended to provide high-certainty evidence in this field.

trial registrationIranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT): IRCT20120718010324N70. Date of registration: 2022-08-31; URL: https://irct.behdasht.gov.ir/user/trial/65033/view .

Indexed as

DepressionPanic attacksPropranololSertraline

Identifiers

PMID40615929
PMCPMC12228203

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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.