Efficacy and safety of agomelatine in the treatment of patients with depressive disorder: A meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: To systematically assess the efficacy and safety of agomelatine in the treatment of patients with depressive disorder. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to agomelatine in the treatment of patients with depressive disorder published in PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP, and Wangfang were retrieved. Extracted data on the efficacy and safety of agomelatine and placebo in the treatment of depressive disorder, and the collected data were processed by RevMan5.4 software. RESULTS: A total of 10 RCTs were included. Meta-analysis showed that the HAMD-17 total scores of agomelatine group were statistically different from those of placebo group (odds ratio [OR]: 2.04, 95% confidence intervals [CIs]: 1.71–2.43, P < .001). High heterogeneity was found between agomelatine groups and placebo groups (P < .0001, and I(2) = 78%), so a subgroup analysis was further performed, and the heterogeneity became insignificant (P = .33, and I(2) = 14%) after excluding the studies, of which course of treatment was 24 weeks or the sample size was relatively small. The adverse events between agomelatine and placebo groups were not statistically significant (OR: 1.15, 95% CIs: 0.69–1.92; P = .05). CONCLUSION: Agomelatine was superior comparable to placebo in the treatment of patients with depressive disorder, and has fewer adverse events.