Cardiovascular drugs increase the risk of suicide

This study was published in the European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2007 Jun;63(6):591-6

Study title and authors:

Cardiovascular drugs and the risk of suicide: a nested case-control study.

Callréus T, Agerskov Andersen U, Hallas J, Andersen M.

Institute of Public Health, Research Unit of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Southern Denmark, J.B. Winsloews Vej 9A, 5000, Odense C, Denmark. tcallreus@health.sdu.dk

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17468865

This study investigated the possible association between the use of cardiovascular drugs and suicide. 743 cases of suicide were matched with 14,860 age- and sex-matched controls and their previous cardiovascular drug use was compared.

The study found:
(a) Taking angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (ACE-inhibitors) increased the risk of suicide by 11%.
(b) Taking statins increased the risk of suicide by 21%.
(c) Taking angiotensin-receptor antagonists increased the risk of suicide by 252%.

This study reveals that cardiovascular drugs increase the risk of suicide.

Links to other studies:
ACE inhibitors and ARBs linked to serious birth defects
Antipsychotic drugs are a risk factor for pneumonia in frail older people