Antidepressant Medication Has Different Effects on Male, Female Drinking
Posted by fredjoiners on March 11, 2007
Men suffering from depression who take antidepressant medications drink about the same amount of alcohol as non-depressed men, but depressed women taking medication drank more than non-depressed women, Canadian researchers say.
Psych Central reported Feb. 27 that both depressed men and women drank more than non-depressed men and women if they did not use antidepressants.
“Our results agree with previous clinical research that suggests that the use of antidepressants is associated with lower alcohol consumption among men suffering from depression,” said lead researcher
Kathryn Graham of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in
Ontario. “But this does not appear to be true for women.”
“The fact that the relationship between the use of antidepressants and the level of alcohol consumption is different for men and women points to the importance of taking gender influences and sex differences into consideration in the treatment and prevention of many health conditions,” said Dr. Miriam Stewart, the scientific director for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Gender and Health.
The study appears in the Feb. 27, 2007 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Reference: Graham, K., Massak, A. (2007) Alcohol consumption and the use of antidepressants. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 176(5): 633-637.
From; Join Together Online
