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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Postmenopausal women who take antidepressants may have a greater risk of stroke or death, new research shows.
For their study, researchers examined 136,293 women, ages 50 to 70, who were not taking antidepressants when they enrolled. They were followed on average for six years. Of those women, researchers focused on 5,496 women who were taking antidepressants at their first follow-up, and 130,797 who were not taking them.
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While there was no difference in the rate of heart disease between the two groups, there was a difference in the stroke rate. Those taking antidepressants were 45 percent more likely to experience strokes than women who weren't taking them. In addition, the women on antidepressants were 32 percent more likely to die than non-users.
While researchers are not sure about why those taking antidepressants were more likely to die, they said the link between antidepressants and increased stroke risk may be related to the underlying depression, since previous studies have shown the mental condition affects cardiovascular health.
For women who are concerned about taking antidepressants based on this study, researchers advise them to speak with their physician. "You have to weigh the benefits that you get from these antidepressants against the small increase in risk that we found in this study," Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, Ph.D., senior author, a principal investigator in the Women's Health Initiative, and a professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, was quoted as saying.
Source: Archives of Internal Medicine, published online December 14, 2009
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