Antidepressants can help millions of people recover from depression and anxiety, but how do they affect physical health? Out today, a review in The Lancet compared 30 antidepressants to see which ones are most (and least) likely to increase our risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes etc.
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From weight gain to heart rhythm changes, sexual dysfunction to sleep problems — the physical side effects of psychiatric drugs are vast, complex, and often overlooked. This blog distils key insights from a new Lancet Commission published today; to help clinicians and patients make safer, more informed prescribing decisions.
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Rena Gatzounis blogs about a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of immersive virtual reality treatments for mental health disorders.
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Eleanor Dawkins explores a new review and meta-analysis suggesting that cognitive impairment is linked with anticholinergic medication in psychosis, providing grounds for more careful monitoring and review of medications.
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Rina Dutta and Alina Cuhraja summarise a network meta-analysis on antidepressants, suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviours, which suggests that SSRIs may reduce suicidal ideation in the short-term, but this is not sustained even to week 8 of treatment.
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Dr Rachel Reid-McCann discusses the latest research on dosage of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) and the risk of depression. A well conducted study from Denmark “provides evidence of a dose-dependent association between LNG exposure and risk of subsequent depression across three dosages”.
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Flo Martin summarises a recent umbrella review which finds that we still have limited knowledge about the safety of psychotropic drug use in pregnancy.
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Gemma Lewis and Glyn Lewis summarise a robust systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the incidence of symptoms when discontinuing or withdrawing from antidepressants. The data suggest that 8-14% of patients will experience antidepressant discontinuation symptoms, and for around 2% these symptoms will be severe.
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Michael Kalfas and Paul Leeks summarise a recent Danish study that assesses the risk of antidepressant-induced mania in patients with bipolar depression.
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This review comparing the effectiveness of articaine and lidocaine for lower third molar surgery included 14 RCTs. The findings suggest that articaine is superior to lidocaine for use in lower third molar however the available are small so additional larger high quality studies would be helpful to strengthen the evidence.
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