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Elderly patients being treated for depression may fare better with older antidepressants rather than newer, more popular antidepressants such as Effexor and Prozac.
Researchers say that while newer SSRIs drugs are generally safe and effective, there have been fewer studies testing their safety.æ
SSRIs, which include Celexa, Paxil and Zoloft, recently have been linked to an increase in falls in the elderly.æ
The University of Nottingham in the UK analyzed prescription data of more than 60,000 patients between the ages 65 and 100 who had recently been diagnosed with depression. Seniors taking SSRIs have:
- a higher risk of dying
- having a stroke
- falling
- breaking a bone
- having seizure
Additionally, within one year, 10.6% of this group of seniors taking SSRIs died.
As researchers told Health Day News, seniors (and their caregivers) need to have an ongoing conversation with their doctors.