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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Pharmacotherapy for Anxiety and Comorbid Alcohol Use Disorders

About this resource:

Systematic Review

Source: The Cochrane Collaborative

Last Reviewed: January 2015

Workgroups: Substance Use Workgroup, Mental Health and Mental Disorders Workgroup

In this Cochrane systematic review, the Cochrane Collaborative found insufficient evidence to determine if certain medicines are effective in treating people with anxiety disorders and alcohol use problems. The studies included in the review assessed the effectiveness of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and buspirone, a 5‐hydroxytryptamine partial agonist. Researchers found that the quality of the evidence was very low, and side effects like sexual problems were commonly reported.

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Objectives related to this resource (1)

Reduce the proportion of people who had alcohol use disorder in the past year — SU‑13
Little or no detectable change

Suggested Citation

1.

Ipser, J.C., Wilson, D., Akindipe, T.O., Sager, C. & Stein, D.J. (2015). Pharmacotherapy for anxiety and comorbid alcohol use disorders. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2015 (1). DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007505.pub2.