New Study Links Antidepressants and Ulcer Bleeding

Antidepressant medications increase one’s risk of ulcer bleeding by a small margin. A new study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry evaluated 1,321 people who had gastrointestinal bleeding for receiving drugs such as Prozac, Celexa, and Paxil. These drugs were associated with bleeding in one in 2,000 people. If pain medications were also taken into account, the risk jumped to one in 250. The study concluded that the antidepressants prevent the body’s platelets, which aid in clotting blood, from functioning properly and suggest acid suppression medicine to diminish the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. Los Angeles Times, July 12, 2008
2008-08-01 18:58:33