People who take antidepressants are at a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, researchers at the University of Southampton found. However, researchers are yet to determine whether the medication is directly responsible for this.
With the number of people suffering from mental disorders rising, the use of antidepressants has also increased dramatically over the last few years. Physicians have observed that people taking antidepressants are at a higher risk of type 2 diabetes but studies conducted on the same have resulted in different findings based on how the studies were carried out and the methods used in the study.
A team from the University of Southampton examined 22 such studies and pitched them against three previous systematic reviews that looked into the effects of antidepressants on diabetes risk. Researchers concluded that though people taking antidepressants were more likely to have diabetes, different types of antidepressants may carry different risks and long-term prospective randomized control trials are needed to look at the effects of individual tablets.
"Antidepressants are used widely in the UK, with a significant increase in their use recently," said Dr Katharine Barnard, Health Psychologist from the University of Southampton . "Our research shows that when you take away all the classic risk factors of type 2 diabetes; weight gain, lifestyle etc, there is something about antidepressants that appear to be an independent risk factor. With 46 million prescriptions a year, this potential increased risk is worrying. Heightened alertness to the possibility of diabetes in people taking antidepressants is necessary until further research is conducted."
Previous studies have linked several antidepressants with significant weight gain, which increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, several studies which explored this association also observed an increased risk of diabetes after adjustment for changes in body weight, implying other factors could be involved.
"While depression is an important clinical problem and antidepressants are effective treatments for this debilitating condition, clinicians need to be aware of the potential risk of diabetes, particularly when using antidepressants in higher doses or for longer duration," Richard Holt, Professor in Diabetes and Endocrinology at the University of Southampton concluded. "When prescribing antidepressants, doctors should be aware of this risk and take steps to monitor for diabetes and reduce that risk of diabetes through lifestyle modification."
