Menopause And Antidepressants: Certain SSRIs Linked To Increased Risk Of Bone Fracture In Menopausal Patients

New findings published in the journal Injury Prevention reveal that menopausal women prescribed certain types of antidepressants could be at a higher than normal risk for bone fractures. The class of antidepressants involved include certain selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), such as Celexa, Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft.

For the study, researchers collected data from the PharMetrics Claims Database that contains a wide range of drug therapy information on over 61 million patients at the national level. Researchers specifically looked at the data of 137,031 patients aged 40-64 who were prescribed SSRIs from 1998-2010. These women were compared with 236,294 in the same age group over the same period but prescribed H2 antagonists or proton pump inhibitors, according to Medical News Today. Participants from both groups were not diagnosed with any mental health issues.

Findings revealed that risk fracture rate increased with the SSRIs, with one, two and five years of drug initiation at 76 percent, 73 percent and 67 percent, respectively.

However researchers noted that more studies may be necessary as only statistical data was used. Therefore, at this time, other factors including cause and effect links, cannot be determined.

"SSRIs appear to increase fracture risk among middle-aged women without psychiatric disorders, an effect sustained over time, suggesting that shorter duration of treatment may decrease this," said lead study author Professor Matthew Miller, in a news release. "Future efforts should examine whether this association pertains at lower doses."

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