Agomelatine was a novel and melatonergic antidepressant. The present study was conducted to find out whether age was an important factor for agomelatine in treating depressed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. In total, 193 depressed T2DM patients were included. There were 84 patients ranged from 27 years old to 49 years old (age phase I) (n = 44 receiving agomelatine, n = 40 receiving paroxetine or fluoxetine), and 109 patients ranged from 50 years old to 70 years old (age phase II) (n = 56 receiving agomelatine, n = 53 receiving paroxetine or fluoxetine). The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) score, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS) score, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level and body mass index (BMI) were assessed after 12 weeks treatment. After treatment, we found that among patients in age phase I, there were no significant differences in final average HDRS score, HARS score, FPG, HbA1c level, BMI, response rate and remission rate between the two groups. However, among patients in age phase II, compared to patients receiving paroxetine or fluoxetine, patients receiving agomelatine had the significantly lower average HDRS score, HARS score, HbA1c level and BMI, and significantly higher response rate and remission rate. The incidence of treatment-related adverse events was similar between the two groups in both age phases. These results suggested that age was an important factor for agomelatine in treating depressed T2DM patients. Compared to paroxetine/fluoxetine, agomelatine might be more appropriate for elderly depressed T2DM patients.
Keywords: agomelatine; depression; fluoxetine; paroxetine; type 2 diabetes mellitus.