Psychiatric Medication Use Associated With Triple The Risk of Stroke

madinamerica;

November 13, 2014

Common psychiatric medications double the risk of heart attack and triple the risk of stroke, according to research presented at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress and reported in theVancouver Sun. Another study reported that mental health patients often receive poor medical care and general health recommendations from their treatment providers, contributing further to their heart problems.

“While evidence linking some antipsychotic medications to weight gain, diabetes and heart disease has grown in recent decades, this is the first time it has been documented nationally,” reported theSun about the research led by a PhD student working with University of British Columbia and the Toronto Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, using data from the Canadian Community Health Survey by Statistics Canada.

Many psychiatric medications “change the way fats and sugars are broken down in the body leading to high cholesterol or diabetes, which are both contributing causes to heart disease and stroke,” reported the Sun.

High rates of smoking among people taking psychiatric medications, unhealthy eating and physical inactivity exacerbate the problems. Another recent study in Vancouver, the Sun reported, “concluded patients with schizophrenia who develop heart disease rarely receive adequate followup treatment.”

“Fifteen years ago, this wasn’t even considered part of treatment. Now care has to include discussion of metabolic syndrome,” a co-author of that study told the Sun. “All patients should be on an exercise program because that has been shown to have positive impact … Exercise can help reverse the (side) effects of the medication.”

Some psychiatric drugs triple the risk of stroke: study (Vancouver Sun, October 27, 2014)

This entry was posted in Adverse Effects, Featured News, In the News, Metabolic Syndrome, Psychiatric Drugs by Rob Wipond. Bookmark the permalink.

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Thank You Mr Wipond and MIA.

Adverse Reactions To Psych Drugs Hospitalize 17,000 Annually, Send 90,000 To Emergency Rooms

via madinamerica;

Adverse Reactions to Psychiatric Medications Hospitalize 17,000 Annually

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July 11, 2014

Nearly 90,000 American adults are going to emergency rooms every year in response to adverse events from psychiatric medications, according to a study in JAMA Psychiatry. Examining data from 2009 to 2011, researchers from the Center for Disease Control and Johns Hopkins University found that 19.3% of these adverse events resulted in hospitalization. They called these rates of harm “conservative” because they excluded, for example, self-harm, drug abuse, and long-term chronic conditions resulting from medications. The rates were similar across age groups, but 61.9% involved women compared to 38.1% involving men.

Antidepressants were the most common cause of adverse events among women aged 19-44, while antipsychotics ranked highest among men of that age. Almost 3/5ths of all adverse events were caused by just 10 drugs. “Attempts to reduce the use of psychiatric medications when risks outweigh benefits have had mixed success, but the current burden of [adverse drug events] from therapeutic use of psychiatric medications, which conservatively includes almost 90,000 [emergency department] visits a year, suggests that such efforts should continue,” concluded the researchers.

Emergency Department Visits by Adults for Psychiatric Medication Adverse Events (Hampton. Lee M. et al. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online July 09, 2014. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.436)

Also see:

Psychiatric Drugs Send 90,000 to the ER Yearly (Live Science, July 9, 2014)

This entry was posted in Featured News, In the News, Psychiatric Drugs by Rob Wipond. Bookmark thepermalink.

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• High Doses of Antidepressants Increase Self-Harm in Children, Young Adults
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• Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews Finds Systematic Under-Reporting of Adverse Events
• Reporting Adverse Reactions to Psychiatric Drugs – How Doctors and Regulators Fail Us
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• Thank You Mr Wipond and MIA