SSRIs Increase Bone Loss in Older Adults

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Two cohort studies — one in older women and the other in older men — find increased bone loss associated with SSRI use.
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<p>The studies, published in <i>Archives of Internal Medicine</i> , included some 2700 women and 6000 men followed prospectively in population-based studies of osteoporosis. Participants had their medications inventoried and their BMD measured. The women underwent two measurements of BMD, done roughly 5 years apart; the men had a single measurement. </p>
<p>In women, bone loss decreased faster in those receiving SSRIs than in those receiving either tricyclic or no antidepressants. In men, the bone effect of SSRI use was &quot;similar to that for glucocorticoids.&quot;</p>
<p>An editorialist says that a mouse model showing &quot;a reduction in bone mass when serotonin is overexpressed provides biological plausibility.&quot; While acknowledging the studies' limitations, he concludes that &quot;depression and ... SSRI use should be added to the list of risk factors that prompt clinicians to more carefully consider bone health.&quot;</p>