Falls, fractures and antidepressants

Better Nutrition, May, 2007

The risk of fairing and suffering a fracture may increase in adults over age 50 if they are taking SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) medication for depression. A new study from the Archives of. Internal Medicine monitored 5,008 adults, 137 of whom were taking SSRIs such as Lexapro, Prozac and Zoloft. Daily use of the drugs was associated with a doubted risk of fragility fractures and also failing and the higher the SSRI dose, the greater the subjects' fracture risk. Those taking SSRIs also had lower bone,, mineral density at the hip and spine. The reason for these findings has not been established, a though serotonin, the feel-good brain chemical, is known to play a rote in bone physiology.

[To learn how nutrition can ease depression, see "Finding Your Food-Mood Solution" on p. 52.]