- Explain to interested patients that the risk of fractures must be weighed against the benefit of treating depression with the SSRI class of antidepressants.
- Inform interested patients that the study focused on fracture risk with SSRI medications rather than comparing different classes of antidepressants.
MONTREAL, Jan. 22 -- Commonly used antidepressants may increase the risk of osteoporotic fractures among patients 50 and older, researchers here found.
Daily use of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) doubled the risk of a minimal-trauma fracture, reported David Goltzman, M.D., of Royal Victoria Hospital and McGill University here, and colleagues, in the Jan. 22 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
The prospective population-based study confirmed the link that had been found in previous database studies t, which had limited ability to control for confounding factors.
The researchers said these findings may have important public health consequences because about 10% of older patients in the U.S. suffer from depression. SSRIs, because of their "presumed favorable adverse effect profile," are considered the first-line therapy for these patients.
