Social Work Today E-Zine

A class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) appear to be associated with bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract, according to a report in a recent issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. The effects appear increased when antidepressants are combined with other stomach-harming medications and decreased when acid-suppressing agents are used.

Francisco J. de Abajo, MD, MPH, PhD, of the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Healthcare Products, and Luis A. García-Rodríguez, MD, MSc, of the Spanish Centre for Pharmacoepidemiologic Research, Madrid, Spain, studied 1,321 patients who had been referred to a specialist or hospitalized for upper GI bleeding between 2001 and 2005. These cases were compared with 10,000 control subjects who were the same age and sex but did not have upper GI bleeding.

Individuals with upper GI bleeding were significantly more likely than controls to be taking SSRIs (5.3% vs. 3.0%) or venlafaxine (1.1% vs. 0.3%). The risk of bleeding appeared to be increased further among those taking both SSRIs and other drugs known to be harmful to the GI tract, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and corticosteroids. However, acid-suppressing agents were associated with a reduced risk of upper GI bleeding in those taking SSRIs or venlafaxine.

The researchers estimate that in patients not taking acid-suppressing agents, one individual per year would develop upper GI tract bleeding for every 2,000 patients taking these antidepressants. “When both SRIs [SSRIs and venlafaxine] and NSAIDs are concomitantly used, it would be sufficient to treat 250 patients per year for one case of upper GI tract bleeding to be attributed to such combination, and 500 patients per year if SRIs are concomitantly used with antiplatelet drugs,” the authors wrote.

— Source: American Medical Association