Friday, March 12, 2010

Canadian research links anti-depressants, cataracts

From the Montreal Gazette:
Some depression and anxiety drugs are associated with an increased risk of cataracts, new research shows.

According to the study in the journal Ophthalmology, British Columbia and Quebec researchers found a link between cataracts and some drugs in a class of medications called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

The study used a database of more than 200,000 Quebec residents over the age of 65.

Across Canada, pharmacies last year dispensed about 24 million prescriptions for SSRIs with a dollar value of $1.1 billion.

After adjusting for other risk factors including gender, hypertension, diabetes and heart disease, the relative risk of having cataract surgery was 1.51 times greater for those taking fluvoxamine (Luvox).

For those taking venlafaxine (Effexor), the risk was 1.34 times higher and for those on paroxetine (Paxil) the risk was 1.23 times higher. ...more

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