Reply to Letter to the Editor "Surprising Results in the Study of Paroxetine for Generalized Anxiety Disorder"

Letter to the Editor

Sir: We do not share Dr. Ballas’ surprise over the placeboresponse rate (47%) in the course of the short-term treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) described in our article. As we point out in the Discussion, other authors using similar response criteria have reported response rates of approximately 40%. Response rates of 40% to 50% or more using various response criteria are not unique to studies of GAD treatments and have been reported for clinical trials of treatments for major depression, panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder.