Psychosomatic medicine
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Psychosomatic medicine · Jul 1998
Meta AnalysisDo antidepressants have an analgesic effect in psychogenic pain and somatoform pain disorder? A meta-analysis.
A significant amount of evidence indicates that some antidepressants have an analgesic effect. We wished to determine whether this analgesic effect could be demonstrated in studies that had used antidepressants for the treatment of pain in patients diagnosed with psychogenic pain or somatoform pain disorder. Meta-analysis was used for this purpose. ⋯ The results indicate that, in patients diagnosed with psychogenic pain or somatoform pain disorder, antidepressant treatment resulted in a reduction in pain that was significantly greater than that of placebo. Possible explanations for these results are discussed.