Remission Rates for Depression in STAR*D Study

摘要

To the Editor: The less than spectacular remission rates for depression recently reported in The Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study (1) will likely be of no surprise to experienced clinicians. I, for one, am relieved to find that the frustratingly poor remission rates that I've witnessed for many years among my depressed patients (most of whom are characterized by features associated in the study with lower remission rates) are in accord with a well-designed effectiveness study such as STAR*D. The STAR*D study is a welcome change from the era of efficacy studies in which patients like mine were largely excluded.