Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Aug;21(8):811-5.
doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2013.01.018. Epub 2013 Feb 6.

The association of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors use and stroke in geriatric population

Chia-Chun Hung  1 , Ching-Heng Lin, Tsuo-Hung Lan, Chin-Hong Chan
Affiliations

The association of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors use and stroke in geriatric population

Chia-Chun Hung et al. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2013 Aug.

Abstract

Objectives: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) exposure has controversial results in increasing the stroke risk. With the risk of stroke increased with age, the safety of SSRI use among older adults attracts much concern.

Methods: We analyzed 28,145 subjects older than 65 years from a subset of a 9-year cohort database from the National Health Insurance Research Database, Taiwan.

Results: The survival analysis showed a greater probability of stroke in subjects with SSRI exposure after adjusting other covariates. Compared with other variables, SSRI exposure had the strongest effect (hazard ratio: 2.66, 95% confidence interval: 2.21-3.20). The risk was independent to depression-related stroke risk.

Conclusions: The use of SSRIs independently increases the risk of stroke among older patients. SSRIs are still practically safe to most users, providing precautionary measures are taken.

Keywords: Geriatric; hemorrhage; ischemia; selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs); stroke.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources