Antidepressants speed up cognitive decline

Antidepressants could accelerate cognitive decline and dementia in older people.

The SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), the most common type of antidepressant, accelerate memory loss in those who are already displaying the early signs of dementia, a new study has found.

Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden noticed that older people who were taking an SSRI were showing signs of greater memory loss and general cognitive decline before others who were not on the drug.

The researchers monitored the mental health of 18,740 older people with an average age of 78 years, who had recently been diagnosed with dementia; 4,271 were prescribed an SSRI for depression or anxiety, although during the 10-year study another 7,000 were put on the drug.

Those taking the antidepressant were also more likely to suffer severe dementia, and they had a higher risk of a fracture and an earlier death from any cause.

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