Research suggests possible differential effects of antihypertensive medications on mood
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Some antihypertensive medications may increase the risk that patients will be hospitalized for depression and bipolar disorder, according to a study published online Oct. 10 in Hypertension.
Angela Boal, a medical student at the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom, and colleagues tracked 144,066 patients in Scotland being treated for hypertension for five years. The average age was 55. Two hundred ninety-nine patients were hospitalized for depression or bipolar disorder.
According to Boal, patients who took no blood pressure medication had a 0.20 percent risk of hospitalization, or 2.0 per 1,000 people. The rate was higher for those on β-blockers (2.7 per 1,000 people) and calcium channel blockers (3.0 per 1,000 people). The risk was lower for those on angiotensin antagonists (1.3 per 1,000 people) and about equal for those on thiazide diuretics (2.0 per 1,000).
“Overall, our exploratory findings suggest possible differential effects of antihypertensive medications on mood that merits further study: calcium antagonists and β-blockers may be associated with increased risk, whereas angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers may be associated with a decreased risk of mood disorders,” the authors write.
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