Posted by larryhoover on May 30, 2011, at 11:08:33
In reply to Anti Depressant-Cardio Vascula damage?!, posted by BrainDamage on May 29, 2011, at 4:27:07
I wouldn't let this new finding worry you too much. Mercola's diatribe was based on an L.A. Times report of some evidence provided at a medical conference. It doesn't appear that he looked further than that.
The original research does not appear to have been published in a journal as yet, so I did a google search and found more information than was in the L.A. Times article. http://www.theheart.org/article/1204381.do
The most important bit of information in this article is that there is an interaction between antidepressant use and the acute mood state of the subject; those with the most severe depression according to the Beck Depression Inventory had the greatest arterial wall thickening. That suggests, IMHO, that the artery wall thickening is transient, that it will regress when both the low mood and the antidepressant drugs are no longer present. The study measured active antidepressant use, and acute mood state, not history of either.
We already know that depression is associated with increased risk of cardiac/circulatory system disease. In this study, this one risk factor was closely observed. That's all we know. And what they found was that artery wall thickening equivalent to about a four year increase in age was observed. When I'm depressed, I feel more than four years older than I am. Just sayin'.
Lar
P.S. Mercola astounds me in his extreme interpretation of the science he reports on. I know of no better example of confirmation bias, the tendency to only use evidence that supports your beliefs, than Mercola in general.
poster:larryhoover
thread:986513
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110529/msgs/986638.html