Hydroxyzine for generalised anxiety disorder
Hydroxyzine can help in the short term — but would an antidepressant with stronger long-term evidence be a better fit for my anxiety?
Well-supported by good-quality research. how we score evidence
Across 5 randomized trials with 884 participants, hydroxyzine reduced generalized-anxiety symptoms more than placebo and was reasonably tolerated, but the evidence base was too thin to compare it with benzodiazepines or buspirone, and the reviewers concluded it should not be a first-line treatment ahead of antidepressants.
Worth asking
Hydroxyzine can help in the short term — but would an antidepressant with stronger long-term evidence be a better fit for my anxiety?
What it is FDA approved for
Read off the label. Trial duration and approval year are shown only where they were recorded — never inferred.
- Symptomatic relief of anxiety and tension associated with psychoneurosis, and as an adjunct in organic disease states in which anxiety is manifested
- Management of pruritus due to allergic conditions (chronic urticaria, atopic and contact dermatoses) and histamine-mediated pruritus
- Sedation as premedication and following general anesthesia
Source
Hydroxyzine for generalised anxiety disorder — Guaiana G, Barbui C, Cipriani A (2010)
Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006815.pub2
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006815.pub2
How this was scored
- Study design
- Meta-analysis of randomised trials
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
- Published in
- Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 884
- Preregistered
- Yes
- Conflicts disclosed
- Yes
- Independent of proponent
- not recorded
- 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 79 out of 100 on our published rubric. 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?
Hydroxyzine for generalised anxiety disorder — Guaiana G, Barbui C, Cipriani A (2010). Published in: Top-tier peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006815.pub2. 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: Meta-analysis of randomised trials. Funding: Funding not disclosed. Independence from the proponent is not recorded. 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 hydroxyzine (Vistaril, Atarax), vistaril, atarax FDA approved?
Yes — FDA approved for Symptomatic relief of anxiety and tension associated with psychoneurosis, and as an adjunct in organic disease states in which anxiety is manifested, Management of pruritus due to allergic conditions (chronic urticaria, atopic and contact dermatoses) and histamine-mediated pruritus, Sedation as premedication and following general anesthesia. 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.