Side Effects of Antidepressants for Women May Increase Risk of Stroke: Study

Antidepressant side effects may increase the risk of stroke for women, according to a new study from Harvard Medical School.

Researchers found a “statistically significant” increase in the chance of stroke in older women taking serotonin uptake inhibitors (SSIs) such as Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft in the results of a study published on Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Scientists involved in the study cautioned that although the results indicate that there is a measurable risk increase, the clinical affect of the increased risk is likely minimal for most women.

SSRIs are a relatively new class of antidepressants, which help reduce symptoms of depression by preventing certain nerve cells in the brain from re-absorbing the chemical serotonin. These drugs are commonly used by millions of Americans with depression.

Although the drugs have been found to cause fewer side effects than older anti-depressants, research has shown that users of the drugs could also face an increased risk of suicides, and use during pregnancy has been linked to a risk of birth defects, especially among users of Paxil.

The researchers performed a prospective cohort study of 136,293 postmenopausal women in the Women’s Health Initiative over a 6-year period. Women on antidepressants had a 45% increased chance of stroke and a 32% increase in mortality compared to women not on any antidepressants.

But the overall risk is still low, researchers said, with women on antidepressants having an annual stroke risk of 0.4 to 0.5%. “These findings must be weighed against quality of life and established risks of cardiovascular disease and mortality associated with untreated depression,” researchers said in the study’s conclusions.