Second-generation antipsychotics for anxiety disorders
If quetiapine was prescribed for anxiety, have we weighed its off-label benefit against the weight gain and sedation, and tried first-line anxiety treatments?
Well-supported by good-quality research. how we score evidence
Pooling 11 randomized trials (4,144 participants), people with generalized anxiety disorder were about twice as likely to respond to quetiapine as to placebo (odds ratio 2.21 across 4 trials, N=2,265), but quetiapine caused more weight gain, sedation, and dropouts from side effects — and this use is not FDA-approved.
Worth asking
If quetiapine was prescribed for anxiety, have we weighed its off-label benefit against the weight gain and sedation, and tried first-line anxiety treatments?
What it is FDA approved for
Read off the label. Trial duration and approval year are shown only where they were recorded — never inferred.
- Schizophrenia (adults; adolescents 13-17)
- Bipolar I disorder, acute manic episodes (monotherapy or adjunct to lithium/divalproex; ages 10-17 monotherapy)
- Bipolar disorder, acute depressive episodes (monotherapy) · trials ran 8-week randomized trials
- Bipolar I disorder, maintenance treatment (adjunct to lithium or divalproex)
- Major depressive disorder, adjunctive treatment with antidepressants (Seroquel XR only)
Source
Second-generation antipsychotics for anxiety disorders — Depping AM, et al. (2010)
Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD008120.pub2
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD008120.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
- 4,144
- Preregistered
- Yes
- Conflicts disclosed
- No
- Independent of proponent
- not recorded
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Where we put this study in context
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "strong evidence". Well-supported by good-quality research. It scores 77 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?
Second-generation antipsychotics for anxiety disorders — Depping AM, et al. (2010). Published in: Top-tier peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD008120.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 quetiapine (Seroquel), seroquel FDA approved?
Yes — FDA approved for Schizophrenia (adults; adolescents 13-17), Bipolar I disorder, acute manic episodes (monotherapy or adjunct to lithium/divalproex; ages 10-17 monotherapy), Bipolar disorder, acute depressive episodes (monotherapy), Bipolar I disorder, maintenance treatment (adjunct to lithium or divalproex), Major depressive disorder, adjunctive treatment with antidepressants (Seroquel XR only). 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.