Efficacy and Safety of Vortioxetine (Lu AA21004) in Treating Adults With Major Depressive Disorder

A responder is defined as a participant with a ≥50% decrease from Baseline in HAM-D24 total score. The HAM-D24 is a clinician-rated 24-item scale for assessing the severity of depression symptoms. The scores for each item range from 0 to 4 or 0 to 2, where 0 represents no symptoms. The rating is based on the past 7 days prior to the time of assessment. The total score ranges from 0 to 74, where a higher score indicates a greater depressive state.

Remission is defined as a participant with a Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score ≤10. The MADRS is a depression rating scale consisting of 10 items, each rated 0 to 6. The 10 items represent the core symptoms of depressive illness. The overall score ranges from 0 (symptoms absent) to 60 (severe depression). Decrease in the total score or on individual items indicates improvement.

A sustained response is defined as a ≥20% decrease from Baseline in HAM-D24 total score obtained at Week 1 and sustained through Week 5 and at least 50% decrease from Baseline at Week 6.

The MADRS is a depression rating scale consisting of 10 items, each rated 0 to 6. The 10 items represent the core symptoms of depressive illness. The overall score ranges from 0 (symptoms absent) to 60 (severe depression). A decrease in the total score or on individual items indicates improvement. Least square means are from an ANCOVA model with treatment and center as fixed factors and the Baseline value as a covariate.

The HAM-A is an anxiety rating scale consisting of 14 items that assess anxious mood, tension, fear, insomnia, intellectual (cognitive) symptoms, depressed mood, behavior at interview, somatic (sensory), cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, autonomic and somatic (muscular) symptoms. Each symptom is rated from 0 (absent) to 4 (maximum severity). Total scores range from 0 to 56, where <17 indicates mild severity, 18-24 mild to moderate severity and 25-30 moderate to severe. Total scores above 30 are rare, but indicate very severe anxiety. Least squares means are from an ANCOVA model with treatment and center as fixed factors and the Baseline value as a covariate.

The Clinical Global Impression - Severity scale (CGI-S) is a 7-point scale that requires the clinician to rate the severity of the patient's illness at the time of assessment, relative to the clinician's past experience with patients who have the same diagnosis. Considering total clinical experience, a patient is assessed on severity of mental illness on the following scale: 1, normal, not at all ill; 2, borderline mentally ill; 3, mildly ill; 4, moderately ill; 5, markedly ill; 6, severely ill; or 7, extremely ill. LS means were from an ANCOVA model with treatment and center as fixed factors and the Baseline value as a covariate.

The Clinical Global Impression - Global Improvement scale assesses the participant's improvement (or worsening) as assessed by the clinician relative to Baseline on a 7-point scale: 1, very much improved; 2, much improved; 3, minimally improved; 4, no change; 5, minimally worse; 6, much worse; or 7, very much worse. LS means were from an ANCOVA model with treatment and center as fixed factors and the CGI-S Baseline value as a covariate.

The MADRS-S is a patient-reported outcome measure based on MADRS, administered to evaluate treatment effectiveness in depression. This scale consists of 9 items assessing patients' mood, feelings of unease, sleep, appetite, ability to concentrate, initiative, emotional involvement, pessimism and zest for life. Each item is scored between 0 (best) and 3 (worst). The total score is calculated by summing the answers of the nine items, ranging between 0 and 27 (higher scores indicate increased impairment). LS means are from an ANCOVA model with treatment and center as fixed factors and the Baseline value as a covariate.

The Medical Outcomes Study SF-36 is a participant self-rated questionnaire that is a general measure of perceived health status comprising 36 questions, which yields an 8-scale health profile. The 8 health concepts are: 1. Limitation in physical activities because of health problems. 2. Limitations in usual role activities because of physical health problems. 3. Bodily pain. 4. Limitations in social activities because of physical or emotional problems. 5. General mental health (psychological distress and well-being). 6. Limitations in usual role activities because of emotional problems. 7. Vitality (energy and fatigue). 8. General health perception. Each scale ranges from 0 (best) - 100 (worst). LS means are from an ANCOVA model with treatment and center as fixed factors and the Baseline value as a covariate.

The Sheehan Disability Scale assesses functional impairment in 3 domains: work/school, social life or leisure activities, and home life or family responsibilities. The participant rates the extent to which each aspect is impaired on a 10-point visual analog scale, from 0 (not at all) to 10 (extremely). The 3 scores are added together to calculate the total score, which ranges from 0 to 30, with higher scores indicating more impairment. LS means were from an ANCOVA model with treatment and center as fixed factors and the Baseline value as a covariate.

Healthcare resource utilization was assessed by the Health Economic Assessment (HEA) questionnaire, which monitors the participants absenteeism from work, as well as resource use such as visits to a general practitioner, outpatient and inpatient services, hospitalization, medications, and other relevant services over the past 8 weeks.