Medications With Depression as an Adverse Effect

To the Editor In a cross-sectional survey study, Dr Qato and colleagues found that the use of prescription medications with depression as a potential adverse effect was common. However, the authors did not take into account that most of the drugs described are used to treat conditions already linked to an increased risk of depressive symptoms. Although they investigated the relationship between hypertension and depression, they did not account for the association of depressive symptoms with pain (and subsequent use of pain killers), gastroesophageal reflux disorder (and subsequent use of gastrointestinal agents), or atopic disorders, such as asthma or allergic rhinitis (and the use of montelukast and antihistamines). Interestingly, these conditions are related to persistent low-grade inflammation, an important factor associated with depression, which could not be accounted for in the study.
Source: JAMA - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research