Black and White Patients Response to Antidepressant Treatment for Major Depression

Differences in response to psychopharmacologic agents according to race has so far primarily focused on investigations related to the response of Asian-American patients to neuroleptics and lithium. In this article, we present evidence which depicts that black patients need lower doses of tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) than white patients to attain a similar response in the treatment of major depression. Likewise, we also advance that black patients might need lower doses of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor antidepressants (SSRIs) than white patients to attain a similar response in the treatment of major depression. Further studies are suggested to confirm these findings.