A new study about antidepressants and the people who take them regularly have come out of Canada – and have raised red flags after the study’s researchers found out that people on antidepressants who DO NOT SUFFER from heart disease, are 33% more likely to die from any other cause than those individuals who are taking the drugs.
In conclusion, the authors of the paper asserted that antidepressants do more harm than good and that their continued use should be stopped. However, psychiatrists did not agree with the research findings, saying that antidepressants have been safely used for years and offer an important lifeline for those who have no other options.
Antidepressants are some of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the U.K. with one in 11 British adults having to resort to the pills. Also, the use of antidepressants have been steadily increasing with England recording 64.7 million prescriptions last year, double the number a decade ago.
Since antidepressant medications like Prozac and Zoloft are becoming more common cure-alls in our society, the study’s results triggered a nerve in most people, particularly psychiatrists who have been prescribing these antidepressant drugs for so long. Psychiatrists have been prescribing them for some time that sometimes the direct side effects of such drugs are not even explained to the patient.
What the Canadian team found out
The study was conducted by a team from McMaster University based out of Hamilton, Ontario and published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. The researchers analyzed the results of 17 studies conducted earlier which involved close to 380,000 participants in order to find out the overall long-term effects of antidepressants on a person’s longevity.
Initial findings of the study were not too hair-raising. Although there was a 9% rise in the risk of death for those on so-called “happy pills”, the researchers concluded that this rise was not clinically significant.
However, since antidepressants are known to thin the blood which might give a positive impact on people with cardiovascular diseases because it will prevent clotting, the researchers then removed the results of participants with heart conditions. That was when the team discovered that long-term use of the antidepressants among patients with no heart disease elevated their risk of death by 33%.
The Science Daily, an online news agency, explains that brain serotonin affects mood, and that the most commonly prescribed antidepressant treatment for depression blocks the absorption of serotonin by neurons. Likewise, other major organs of the body, like the kidneys, heart, lung, and liver derive serotonin from the bloodstream.
If antidepressants manage to block the absorption of serotonin to these vital organs mentioned above, then these drugs could increase a person’s risk of death by preventing the organ/s from functioning.
Another shocking revelation was revealed by a famous publication, The Lancet. A study found out that of the 14 most commonly prescribed antidepressants, only one, namely fluoxetine (Prozac) actually worked better than a placebo.
Another drug – venlafaxine (Effexor) – was linked to an increase in suicidal thoughts and attempts.
Conclusion
So, to sum up everything, 90% of antidepressants don’t work. In fact, they double your risk of suicide and they heighten your risk of an early death by 33%. And we still use them.
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