Fluoxetine, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and their combination for adolescents with depression: Treatment for…
This landmark trial found fluoxetine works best for teens when paired with CBT - can we add talk therapy alongside the prescription?
Well-supported by good-quality research. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: The journal funding footnote sits behind JAMA's paywall, so funding is recorded as unknown; ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00006286) lists the National Institute of Mental Health as the study sponsor.
In 439 adolescents with depression, 71% responded to fluoxetine plus CBT, 61% to fluoxetine alone, 43% to CBT alone, and 35% to placebo after 12 weeks; combining CBT with fluoxetine also gave the biggest drop in suicidal thinking.
Worth asking
This landmark trial found fluoxetine works best for teens when paired with CBT - can we add talk therapy alongside the prescription?
What it is FDA approved for
Read off the label. Trial duration and approval year are shown only where they were recorded — never inferred.
- Major depressive disorder (acute and maintenance treatment)
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Bulimia nervosa (moderate to severe; binge-eating and vomiting behaviors)
- Panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia
- Depressive episodes associated with bipolar I disorder (in combination with olanzapine)
- Treatment-resistant depression (in combination with olanzapine)
Source
Fluoxetine, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and their combination for adolescents with depression: Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS) randomized controlled trial — March J, et al. (TADS Team) (2004)
Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.292.7.807
DOI: 10.1001/jama.292.7.807
How this was scored
- Study design
- Randomised controlled trial
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
- Published in
- Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 439
- Preregistered
- Yes
- Conflicts disclosed
- No
- Independent of proponent
- Yes
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "strong evidence". Well-supported by good-quality research. It scores 75 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: The journal funding footnote sits behind JAMA's paywall, so funding is recorded as unknown; ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00006286) lists the National Institute of Mental Health as the study sponsor. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Fluoxetine, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and their combination for adolescents with depression: Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS) randomized controlled trial — March J, et al. (TADS Team) (2004). Published in: Top-tier peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1001/jama.292.7.807. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Randomised controlled trial. Funding: Funding not disclosed. The researchers were independent of whoever benefits from the result. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), prozac, sarafem FDA approved?
Yes — FDA approved for Major depressive disorder (acute and maintenance treatment), Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Bulimia nervosa (moderate to severe; binge-eating and vomiting behaviors), Panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia, Depressive episodes associated with bipolar I disorder (in combination with olanzapine), Treatment-resistant depression (in combination with olanzapine). Approval is for a specific indication, not for everything the drug is prescribed for.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.