Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Feb 28;23(1):144-154.
doi: 10.9758/cpn.24.1255. Epub 2024 Dec 3.

Effectiveness of Buspirone in Alleviating Anxiety Symptoms in Patients with Depressive Disorder: A Multicenter Prospective Observational Study in Korea

Young Sup Woo  1   2 , Won-Seok Choi  1 , Jong-Hyun Jeong  1 , Jonghun Lee  3 , Do-Hoon Kim  4 , Jong-Chul Yang  5 , Se-Hoon Shim  6 , Seung-Gul Kang  7 , Young-Eun Jung  8 , Won Kim  9 , Chi-Un Pae  1 , Won-Myong Bahk  1
Affiliations

Effectiveness of Buspirone in Alleviating Anxiety Symptoms in Patients with Depressive Disorder: A Multicenter Prospective Observational Study in Korea

Young Sup Woo et al. Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci. .

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of buspirone as an adjunctive therapy for alleviating anxiety symptoms in patients with depressive disorders who are already taking antidepressants.

Methods: This was an open-label prospective multicenter non-interventional observational study conducted over 12 weeks. We enrolled 180 patients diagnosed with depressive disorders according to DSM-5 criteria and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) scores ≥ 18. Participants were already taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or serotoninnorepinephrine reuptake inhibitors and were prescribed adjunctive buspirone. Efficacy was assessed using HAMA, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), Clinical Global Impression Scale-Improvement, Clinical Global Impression Scale-Severity, Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and WHO-5 Well-Being Index.

Results: The efficacy analysis included 161 patients. HAMA scores decreased significantly from 25.2 ± 6.7 at baseline to 15.4 ± 8.6 at 12 weeks (p < 0.001), whereas HAMD scores decreased from 19.4 ± 4.6 to 12.7 ± 5.7 (p < 0.001). WHO-5 and SDS scores showed significant improvements. The HAMA response rate was 39.1% and the remission rate was 13.7% at 12 weeks. Adverse drug reactions were reported in 3.7% of participants. Subgroup analyses showed no significant differences in treatment response based on buspirone dosage, baseline anxiety/depression severity, or benzodiazepine use.

Conclusion: Adjunctive buspirone therapy effectively improved anxiety symptoms in depressed patients taking antidepressants, regardless of baseline symptom severity or buspirone dosage. The treatment was well-tolerated with few adverse events. Future studies using a control group are needed.

Keywords: Anxiety; Anxious depression; Buspirone; Depression.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest

Won-Myong Bahk is a member of the Editorial Board of Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience, Chi-Un Pae is an editor-in-chief of Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience, Young-Eun Jung and Young Sup Woo are the associate editors of Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience. These authors were not involved in the journal’s review of, or decisions related to, this manuscript. No other potential conflicts of interest pertinent to this article were reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Changes in (A) WHO-5 and (B) SDS scores during the study. Values are presented as mean ± standard deviation. SDS, Sheehan Disability Scale; WHO-5, 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index. *Statistically significant, p < 0.001.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Changes in (A) WHO-5 and (B) SDS scores during the study. Values are presented as mean ± standard deviation. SDS, Sheehan Disability Scale; WHO-5, 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index. *Statistically significant, p < 0.001.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Response and remission rate during the study. HAMA, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale; HAMD, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Hirschfeld RM. Clinical importance of long-term antidepressant treatment. Br J Psychiatry Suppl. 2001;42:S4–S8. doi: 10.1192/bjp.179.42.s4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Unützer J, Patrick DL, Diehr P, Simon G, Grembowski D, Katon W. Quality adjusted life years in older adults with depressive symptoms and chronic medical disorders. Int Psycho-geriatr. 2000;12:15–33. doi: 10.1017/S1041610200006177. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sheehan DV, Nakagome K, Asami Y, Pappadopulos EA, Boucher M. Restoring function in major depressive disorder: a systematic review. J Affect Disord. 2017;215:299–313. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2017.02.029. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Emmanuel J, Simmonds S, Tyrer P. Systematic review of the outcome of anxiety and depressive disorders. Br J Psychiatry Suppl. 1998;34:35–41. doi: 10.1192/S0007125000293501. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Shin C, Jeon SW, Lee SH, Pae CU, Hong N, Lim HK, et al. Efficacy and safety of escitalopram, desvenlafaxine, and vortioxetine in the acute treatment of anxious depression: a randomized rater-blinded 6-week clinical trial. Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci. 2023;21:135–146. doi: 10.9758/cpn.2023.21.1.135. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources