The dirty little antidepressant secret that might be harming millions

A new study might make parents think twice before allowing doctors to medicate their children with antidepressant drugs.

University of Maryland (UM) researchers note that over the past two decades, antidepressant use among children and adolescents has nearly doubled.

This statistic sounds shocking, until you consider that roughly one in every six Americans uses a prescription psychiatric medication — and most of those drugs are antidepressants. So the fact that a lot of those pills are being prescribed to children now is sadly predictable.

The UM team analyzed Medicaid records for almost 120,000 kids between the ages of 5 and 20, across several states in the U.S. All of these children were prescribed antidepressants (mostly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs) — for depression, of course, but also for anxiety, ADHD, and other conditions.

Results showed that prolonged SSRI use nearly doubled the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Now THAT’S shocking.

But as it turns out, this isn’t the first time a study has made the connection between SSRIs and type 2 diabetes. In fact, you might consider it antidepressants’ dirty little secret.

Let’s look at three examples…

  • In 2014, a study in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry assessed nearly 50,000 people who used antidepressants for more than two years. Compared to non-users, they had higher risk of type 2, especially when SSRIs were taken at higher doses.
  • The year before that, an analysis of 12 studies by South Korean researchers at the Seoul National University Hospital found that the use of antidepressants was “significantly associated” with higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
  • Later that same year, University of Southampton researchers in the UK analyzed 22 studies and three reviews that explored the antidepressant link with type 2.

The lead author of the Southampton study told Medical News today, “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 appears to be an independent risk factor.”

What could that “something” be?

The answer may have appeared one year ago — without much fanfare — in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Researchers at Leiden University in The Netherlands examined blood samples from more than 5,000 participants in the Rotterdam Study.

They found that SSRI users had significantly lower levels of insulin and less insulin secretion, compared to participants who didn’t use antidepressants.

Also, type 2 diabetics who used SSRI drugs for more than 90 consecutive days were twice as likely to begin using insulin treatment compared to diabetics who didn’t take SSRIs.

With SSRIs being one of the most widely used class of drugs worldwide, it’s ridiculous that this issue isn’t getting more attention.

If you or someone you love is taking an SSRI antidepressant, be sure to keep a close eye on blood sugar levels.

Or better yet, maybe this is a perfect time to try a few proven, pill-free alternatives for easing depression:

  1. Get 30 minutes of exercise daily
  2. Cut out all processed junk food
  3. Remove sugar from your diet

Of course, you should never stop taking any medication without consulting and working closely with your doctor. But for many people, these three simple steps are all it takes to lift their mood — and avoid dangerous antidepressants altogether.

 

SOURCES 

http://www.newswise.com/articles/study-finds-link-between-antidepressant-use-and-type-2-diabetes-in-youth
Study Finds Link Between Antidepressant Use and Type 2 Diabetes in Youth
Newswise
October 23, 2017

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24502860
Long-term antidepressant use and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a population-based, nested case-control study in Taiwan
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
January 2014

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3726790/
Antidepressant Use and Diabetes Mellitus Risk: A Meta-Analysis
Korean Journal of Family Medicine
July 24, 2013

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/266553.php
Antidepressants linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes
Medical News Today
September 25, 2013

https://www.psychiatrist.com/JCP/article/Pages/2016/v77n09/v77n0906.aspx 
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors Decrease Pancreatic Insulin Secretion in Older Adults and Increase the Risk of Insulin Dependence in Type 2 Diabetes Patients
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
September 2016