27th National Clinical Education Symposium Presentation Abstracts
28 APRIL 2025, MONDAY
17.00-18.15 ORAL PRESENTATION SESSION - 3
Investigation of the effects of vortioxetine and duloxetine on cognitive functions in major depressive disorder: an 8-week prospective study
Cansu Çoban1, Süheyla Doğan Bulut1
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Show more (Affiliations)
1. Department of Psychiatry, Ankara Etlik City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
DOI: 10.5080/kes27.abs30 Page 52
BACKGROUND AND AIM:Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with cognitive deficits in attention, memory, and executive functions, persisting even in remission and contributing to functional impairment. This study aimed to compare the effects of duloxetine and vortioxetine on cognitive functions in MDD patients.
METHODS (Ethics Committee Approval must be obtained and the number should be specified.):In this 8-week study, 103 participants were included: 35 MDD patients treated with vortioxetine (10-20 mg), 34 with duloxetine (60-90 mg), and 34 healthy controls. Assessments included the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Clinical Global Impression Scale, Stroop TBAG form, Trail Making Test, and Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT). Patients with comorbid anxiety disorders were excluded. Statistical analyses included Kruskal-Wallis variance analysis, Mann-Whitney U test, and Wilcoxon test. The study was approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee (Decision 115/21, July 21, 2021).
RESULTS:No significant differences were found between groups regarding age, education, depression onset age, or episode count (p>0.05). At baseline, HDRS scores were similar (duloxetine: 20.44±4.93, vortioxetine: 21.43±5.04, p=0.354), and both treatments significantly reduced scores by week 8 (p<0.05). At baseline, MDD patients performed worse than controls on cognitive tests. By week 8, vortioxetine improved all cognitive domains, reducing Trail Making Test A and B times, Stroop Test 1-5 times, and increasing AVLT recall. Duloxetine reducing Trail Making Test A times, Stroop Test 1 and 4 times, and increasing AVLT recall. Cognitive scores in both treatment groups remained lower than in controls, possibly due to residual symptoms or the endophenotypic nature of depression. Limitations include unknown pre-illness cognitive capacities, an 8-week study period, and a small sample size.
CONCLUSIONS:Both drugs improved cognitive function, although not to the same level as healthy controls, but vortioxetine had a greater effect on attention and executive function than duloxetine.