Abstract
Background/Objectives: Tinnitus often occurs alongside the emotional symptoms of anxiety and depression. The Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761(®) was shown to be effective in reducing neuropsychiatric symptoms in elderly patients with both dementia and tinnitus, exerting direct effects on tinnitus severity and indirect effects mediated by improvement of anxiety, depression, and cognition. Whether the extent of the effects is influenced by the patient's sex has not yet been investigated. We performed a conditional process analysis to evaluate this question. Methods: We analyzed the moderating role of sex on the direct and indirect effects of EGb 761(®) on tinnitus severity using a first- and second-stage conditional process model. Results: Indirect effects of EGb 761(®) on tinnitus severity mediated by improved cognition, anxiety, and depression did not differ between women and men (p > 0.05; all 95% bootstrap confidence intervals overlapped with zero). Moreover, direct treatment effects of EGb 761(®) on tinnitus severity were statistically significant for both sexes (women, p < 0.0001; men, p = 0.0279). Conclusions: Beneficial effects of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761(®) in dementia patients with tinnitus are likely to be unaffected by the patient's sex. Further research into the influence of patient characteristics on the outcome of tinnitus drug treatment is encouraged.