OBJECTIVES: Vortioxetine is an antidepressant with a multimodal mechanism of action, its efficacy on mood, physical and cognitive symptoms have been demonstrated in clinical trials. This study is to assess the real-world effectiveness of vortioxetine in routine practice in China.

METHODS: RELIEVE China is a 24-week observational, multi-site, prospective cohort study in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) treated with vortioxetine. The study included a total of 1000 patients. Here we report the interim results of 481 patients enrolled and followed for 8 weeks. For the assessment of depressive symptoms, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale - 17 items (HAM- D₁₇) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were used, functioning was measured by Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), cognitive symptoms by Perceived Deficit Questionnaire - Depression (PDQ-D), anxiety symptom by Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and quality of life by EQ-5D.

RESULTS: A total of 481 patients were included in this interim analysis (61.5% female, mean [SD] age 33.8 [13.03] years, mean [SD] duration of current depressive episode 44.9 [82.86] weeks). At baseline, mean (SD) HAM-D₁₇ score was 19.2 (5.87), PHQ-9 score was 16.1 (6.03), SDS score was 17.1 (7.18), PDQ-D score was 35.6 (17.31), GAD-7 score was 11.8 (5.33) and EQ-5D utility score was 0.73 (0.2). At week 8, the mean changes in scores were -8.21 for HAM-D₁₇, -5.25 for PHQ-9, -5.44 for SDS, -7.47 for PDQ-D and -4.08 for GAD-7, indicating improvements in depressive symptoms, functioning, cognitive and anxiety symptoms. The mean EQ-5D utility score increased to 0.81, indicating improvement in health-related quality of life. In total 42.4% of patients could be classified as responders (≥50% decrease in HAM-D₁₇) and 34.3% (HAM-D₁₇≤7) as remitters after 8 weeks.

CONCLUSIONS: Patients with MDD in China treated with vortioxetine in daily clinical practice has experienced improvements in functioning, quality of life, depressive, cognitive and anxiety symptoms.