Antidepressants Boost GI Bleeding Risk

Antidepressant drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which include Celexa, Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft, can double the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, and the threat is more than six times higher if patients take aspirin and similar pain medications at the same time as SSRIs, a new study finds. "Clinicians who prescribe these medications should be aware of the potential risk and may need to consider alternatives," senior researcher Dr. Sonal Singh, assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in Winston-Salem, N.C., said in a prepared statement. His team published the findings in the journal Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics...  Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article

Report Ranks Jobs by Rates of Depression

People who tend to the elderly, change diapers and serve up food and drinks have the highest rates of depression among U.S. workers. Overall, 7 percent of full-time workers battled depression in the past year, according to a government report available Saturday. Women were more likely than men to have had a major bout of depression, and younger workers had higher rates of depression than their older colleagues. Almost 11 percent of personal care workers — which includes child care and helping the elderly and severely disabled with their daily needs — reported depression lasting two weeks or longer. During such episodes there is loss of interest and pleasure, and at least four other symptoms surface, including problems with sleep, eating, energy, concentration and self-image... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article 

Family Involvement May Help with Repeat Depression

Family therapy may be more effective than simply increasing the dosage of an antidepressant drug when a patient with severe depression suffers a relapse during long-term treatment, new research suggests. The results from the present study illustrate the important role life events and family balance have on patients being treated for repeat depression episodes, note Dr. Giovanni A. Fava, University of Bologna, Italy, and colleagues. "If one is taking antidepressants but has a lot of stress around, particularly in their family, they need family treatment and not more drugs," Fava told Reuters Health... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article

Victim to Surviving to Living

I am currently 39 years old. It took me a long time to understand who I was standing between the two worlds of past victim and present time. I choose not to use the word "survivor" as the opposite of victim because a survivor implies that I am surviving rather than living. And living is so much better than surviving. I started as a victim, as I was a victim to circumstances growing up that I had no control over. I was a small child and did not have the abilities or knowledge of an adult. I existed as a victim and unconsciously re-victimized myself over and over and over until I was in my late 20s. Once I was diagnosed and began to receive treatment, I still saw myself as a victim. As my knowledge and awareness increased and with significant time spent in therapy, I then moved into the new area of considering myself to be a "survivor."... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article

As Sunlight Fades, Look Out for SAD

If your mood, energy level, and motivation decline in November but bounce back to normal in April, you may have seasonal affective disorder (SAD), one expert says. "SAD is thought to be related to a chemical imbalance in the brain brought on by lack of light due to winter's shorter days and typically overcast skies," says Dr. Angelos Halaris, chief of the psychiatry and behavioral sciences department at Loyola University Health System. As many as 10 percent to 20 percent of Americans may experience a mild form of SAD, according to the American Psychiatric Association. Certain people may have a genetic vulnerability to developing the condition, which affects more women than men and tends to start appearing in the teen years. "This condition, characterized by depression, exhaustion and lack of interest in people and regular activities, interferes with a person's outlook on life and ability to function properly," Halaris said. You can take steps to reduce the risk of developing SAD... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article

Drop in Antidepressant Use Seen During Pregnancy

A marked fall in antidepressant use occurs when women first learn that they are pregnant, according to a report. "It is alarming to see that there is still a fear regarding antidepressant use during pregnancy. We knew that some women were going to discontinue using their antidepressants during pregnancy but we didn't think it would be so prevalent and inappropriately used (amongst those who remain on it)," senior author Dr. Anick Berard told Reuters Health. "The risks of untreated depression during pregnancy are significant," Berard, from the CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital in Montreal, said. "Given the safety of most antidepressants during pregnancy, a careful evaluation of the risk/benefit ratio should be done before deciding to discontinue their use. Although physicians and women think they are protecting their unborn child, they might be doing just the contrary."... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article

Work Stress Tied to Higher Depression Risk

People who feel chronically stressed on the job may face an increased risk of depression, a large study suggests. Researchers found that among more than 24,000 working Canadian adults, nearly 5 percent had suffered from major depression in the past year. Those under heavy stress at work appeared to be at particular risk, according to findings in the American Journal of Public Health. A number of studies have found health risks associated with chronic job stress, including high blood pressure and heart disease, as well as depression. However, the depression studies have been limited to either certain occupations or single companies, noted Dr. Emma Robertson Blackmore, the lead author of the new study and an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical School in New York... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article

Antidepressant Response May Predict Cardiac Event

Among patients who have had a heart attack and subsequently develop depression, a lack of response to antidepressant treatment signals a high risk of another cardiac episode, according to a secondary analysis of data from Myocardial Infarction and Depression-Intervention Trial (MIND-IT). MIND-IT involved 2,177 patients who were hospitalized with an acute heart attack. During follow-up, 375 patients developed post-heart attack depression. Two hundred nine of these patients were randomly assigned to receive mirtazapine, sold under the trade name Remeron, or to "care as usual." If there was an inadequate response to mirtazapine after 8 weeks, the patients were switched to citalopram, sold under the trade name Celexa, according to the report in the American Journal of Psychiatry... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article

Women, Hormones & Depression

Depression in men and women is thought to be different. One of these differences is the assumption that some imbalance of female hormones can play a significant role in the onset of depression in women. This, it is often argued, helps to explain the reason why more women than men appear to suffer from depression. But is it really as simple as this? Two conditions commonly associated with hormones and depression are Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder and the so-called ‘baby blues' (postpartum depression). Premenstrual disorders and postpartum depression do seem to point to hormonal imbalance, but research findings are actually less conclusive than might be expected in relation to the role of female hormones to depression... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article

Recognizing Depression in Children

As I said in an earlier blog entry, most of my childhood was blighted by clinical depression. After I was diagnosed at age 27, my parents told me that they knew something was wrong, but didn't know what. Not surprising, since I grew up in the 1960s and 70s, and depression in children wasn't even considered a possibility until the 1980s. But even today, years after the medical community acknowledged that children could be clinically depressed, it is not easy to recognize. There are a couple of reasons why this is the case. Although more and more people are becoming aware that clinical depression is not a mood but a disease, there are still plenty of people who don't realize that. So while they might be able to find reasons why an adult might be depressed (trouble with the person's job or marriage, financial difficulties, etc.) there are generally few reasons that a child might be displaying a sad demeanor, barring major loss of some kind or a dysfunctional home life... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article