Azapirones for generalized anxiety disorder
Buspirone usually takes two to four weeks to work — how long should I stay on it before we decide whether it's helping?
Well-supported by good-quality research. how we score evidence
Across 36 randomized trials with 5,908 participants, buspirone-type drugs beat placebo for generalized anxiety — roughly 1 extra person improved for every 4 to 5 treated (NNT 4.4) — but they were not better than benzodiazepines and patients found them less acceptable.
Worth asking
Buspirone usually takes two to four weeks to work — how long should I stay on it before we decide whether it's helping?
What it is FDA approved for
Read off the label. Trial duration and approval year are shown only where they were recorded — never inferred.
- Management of anxiety disorders or the short-term relief of the symptoms of anxiety
Source
Azapirones for generalized anxiety disorder — Chessick CA, et al. (2006)
Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006115
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006115
How this was scored
- Study design
- Meta-analysis of randomised trials
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
- Published in
- Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 5,908
- 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 81 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?
Azapirones for generalized anxiety disorder — Chessick CA, et al. (2006). Published in: Top-tier peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006115. 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 buspirone (Buspar), buspar FDA approved?
Yes — FDA approved for Management of anxiety disorders or the short-term relief of the symptoms of anxiety. 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.