Antipsychotics Linked to Higher Death Rate

Antipsychotic drugs used to treat adult depression are associated with higher mortality, revealed Rutgers researchers and colleagues at Columbia University. The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Although antidepressants are the first-line pharmacological treatment for depression, many people do not respond to the first treatment course. The second line of treatment with newer antipsychotics, such as aripiprazole, quetiapine, and olanzapine, are advised.

Test Your Knowledge on Antipsychotic Drugs
Antipsychotic or neuroleptic drugs are medications used to treat psychosis in conditions like schizophrenia and mania. Newer medications have lesser side effects than the older ones. Test your knowledge on antipsychotic drugs by taking this quiz.

‘Physicians managing adults with depression should be aware of this potential for increased mortality.’

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"Antipsychotics have well-recognized and often serious adverse effects, including a more than 50 percent increased mortality risk in older adults with dementia," said lead author Tobias Gerhard, an associate professor at Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. "It had been previously unknown whether this mortality risk applies to non-elderly adults using newer antipsychotics as augmentation treatment for depression. The clinical trials that led to the approval of various newer antipsychotics for depression were just too small and too short to be informative for this question."

Data of 39,582 Medicaid beneficiaries ages 25 to 64 from 2001 to 2010, linked to the National Death Index, were analyzed. After treatment with a single antidepressant, study participants were introduced to a second antidepressant.

A 45 percent relative increase in mortality risk for those initiating a newer antipsychotic were identified.

Antipsychotic Medication and Brain Structure
A recent study using advanced brain imaging techniques, a commonly used antipsychotic medication was associated with potentially adverse changes in brain structure.

"Our results require replication, ideally with a publicly financed pragmatic randomized controlled trial. However, in the meantime, our study suggests that physicians should consider prescribing antipsychotics to adults with depression carefully, as the potential health risks are substantial and the benefits are quite modest and controversially debated," said Gerhard.

Antipsychotics

Quiz on Depression
The World Health Organization reports that depression is one of the main causes of disability affecting about 121 million people worldwide. More tragically, it claims around 850,000 lives every year. Hence, it is important that we understand this affliction to help ourselves or our loved ones to cope and, hopefully, resolve it. How well do you know the facts about depression? Take this quiz and find out.

These are a type of psychiatric drug used to treat psychosis. Antipsychotics help treat various mental health problems, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe depression, and psychotic symptoms of personality disorder, to name a few.

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