In this nine-week study, Cymbalta significantly improved core anxiety symptoms such as anxious mood, fears and tension by 51% in patients taking 60mg/day and by 50% in patients taking 120mg/day compared to an improvement of 32% in patients taking sugar pill.
In addition, Cymbalta significantly reduced overall pain by 41% and 37% respectively, compared to 16% in patients taking sugar pill.
Cymbalta patients also reported greater improvement in quality of life including improved ability to perform everyday activities at work, home, and in social situations compared to sugar pill.
“While it is important to evaluate anxiety symptoms such as excessive worry and irritability, it is also important to evaluate associated painful physical symptoms and functioning because many patients also report these symptoms,” said Dr Christer Allgulander of the Karolinska Institutet, and lead author on the study. “These data suggest that not only was Cymbalta able to significantly improve the core anxiety symptoms, but it also reduced painful physical symptoms associated with the disorder and improved functioning resulting in improved quality of life.”