Stahl 2000.

Methods	Twenty‐four‐week, eight centres, double‐blind randomised trial.
Participants	Patients who satisfied DSM‐IV criteria for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) with a minimum 2 months duration of illness, with a score of at least 22 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) , a minimum score of 2 on Depressed Mood Item and a minimum score of 8 on Raskin Depression Scale together with a lower score on the Covi Anxiety Scale. Age range: 18‐60 years old. Exclusion criteria: pregnancy, inadequate contraception, another DSM‐IV Axis I diagnosis, use of other psychotropic medication, increased risk of suicide, treatment resistance, history of sertraline intolerance or SSRI hypersensitivity reactions, history of alcohol or substance abuse.
Interventions	Sertraline: 108 participants. Citalopram: 107 participants. Placebo: 108 participants. Sertraline dose range: 50‐150 mg/day. Citalopram dose range: 20‐60 mg/day. Chloral Hydrate was permitted.
Outcomes	21‐HDRS, MADRS, Clinical Global Impression‐Severity (CGI‐S) andClinical Global Impression‐Improvement (CGI‐I), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM‐A), Symptom Checklist‐56 (SCL‐56), Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q‐LES‐Q).
Notes	This study was funded by Lundbeck (citalopram manufacturer).
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Low risk	Quote "randomized". Probably done, as a similar trial by these investigators included the same phrase and used a proper method of allocation.
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Insufficient information.
Blinding (performance bias and detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Quote "double‐blind" but authors did not give other information.
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	High risk	Missing data and standard deviations.
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Unclear risk	The study protocol is not available.
Other bias	Unclear risk	Sponsorship bias cannot be ruled out.