(2018-07-01) 1 In3 Adults In The Us Takes Medications Linked To Depression

1 In 3 Adults In The U.S. Takes Medications Linked To Depression

If you take Prilosec or Zantac for acid reflux, a beta blocker for high blood pressure, or Xanax for anxiety, you may be increasing your risk of depression

More than a third of the people who took the survey were taking medications known to have depression or suicidal thoughts as potential side effects

Olfson and his collaborators wanted to determine whether those participants were more or less likely to be depressed, compared to participants who didn't take any of these medications. "What we found is that, in fact, they're more likely," Olfson says. And they found that people who took three or more of the medications were three times as likely to be depressed.

Olfson says the study does not prove that the medications caused the depression. "We're just showing that if you're already taking them, you are more likely to be depressed," he says. To determine causation, he says, researchers would need to follow people over time — beginning at the time they start taking the medications — to see if they're more likely to develop depression.