Antidepressant Use Linked to Small Uptick in Accidents
Abstract
Antidepressant Use Linked to Small Uptick in AccidentsJoan Arehart-Treichel  Next SectionAntidepressants have been linked to a slightly increased risk of having a traffic accident. The risk, however, is much lower than for drugs such as benzodiazepines and opioids. Previous Section There is a slightly increased risk of being involved in a traffic accident after having been dispensed an antidepressant. This is the case whether the antidepressant is one of the older sedating types or one of the newer nonsedating ones. However, whether the increased risk is actually due to antidepressant use, to being depressed, or to some other factor is unknown. These findings emerged from a large population study conducted in Norway. The lead investigator was Jorgen Bramness, M.D., Ph.D., a psychiatrist and senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo. Results were published in the June 3 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Bramness and colleagues used three population-based registries in Norway to obtain data for their studyâthe Central Population Registry, the Prescription Database, and the Road Accident Registry. Using the Central Population Registry, the investigators focused on some 3 million Norwegians aged 18 to 69 who had been included in