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Antidepressants might increase hip fracture risk

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Antidepressants might increase hip fracture risk

Antidepressants might increase the risk of hip fracture, according to a study from Finland published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Researchers enrolled 50,491 people with and 100,982 people without Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The patients were aged, on average, 80 years and were followed for 1,500 days. During this time, 22.4 and 9.9 per cent of those with and without AD respectively received antidepressants and 5.2 and 2.9 per cent respectively experienced a hip fracture.

AD patients taking antidepressants were 61 per cent more likely to experience a hip fracture than those who did not take them. The risk was three-fold higher (HR 2.71) among those without AD and was most marked during the first 30 days of antidepressant use in people with and without AD (HR 3.30 and 3.92 respectively). The risk remained elevated for up to four years.

SSRIs, mirtazapine and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) all increased hip fracture risk. SNRIs were associated with HRs of 2.66 and 3.24 in people with and without AD respectively.

Antidepressants also increased hip fracture risk after adjusting for antipsychotics, benzodiazepines and related drugs, other psychotropic drugs, or opioids (HR of 1.58 and 2.52 in people with and without AD respectively).

(DOI:10.1002/gps.4667)

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