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Study: Antidepressants raise accident risk

According to a story in the Daily Mail, a study from the University of Taiwan finds that taking common antidepressants increases the risk of automobile accidents.

Researchers found those taking a common group of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were 72 percent more at risk.

This isn’t the first time that a study has identified a safety risk associated with taking SSRI antidepressants. A number of studies have linked SSRI antidepressants to potentially dangerous heart and lung birth defects in newborns.

SSRI antidepressants include Prozac and Zoloft.

The Daily Mail says the researchers from the University of Taiwan looked at data on 36,000 people, and compared the likelihood of them having an accident to whether they were on antidepressants.

Even patients who had only started the course of drugs that day were 74 per cent more likely to have an accident within 24 hours than those not on medication, the Daily Mail reports.

By comparison, those on a type of sleeping pills called benzodiazepines were 56 percent more at risk of accidents. Those taking antipsychotics were at only 9 percent greater risk.

The report quotes lead researcher Hui-Ju Tsai, who is based at the National Health Research Institutes in Zhunan, Taiwan, as saying: “Our findings underscore that people taking these psychotropic drugs should pay increased attention to their driving performance in order to prevent motor vehicle accidents.”

Patients should consult their doctors before making any changes in their medication. A consultation with an SSRI lawyer is also important if there are significant injuries from SSRIs.

See the story here:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2202434/Taking-Prozac-Don-t-drive-Pills-raise-risk-having-accident-70.html