A new study suggests that High Blood Pressure medication may increase the risk of Depression and other mental health disorders.
According to The Washington Post, high blood prescription medication such as beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, and angiotensin antagonists were all associated with hospital visits for a number of mental health problems including bipolar disorder and depression.
Patients taking angiotensin were 53 percent less likely to have been hospitalized with a mood disorder than those who took the other blood pressure medication, Medical Daily reported. Although the exact reason may still not be clear, the study could suggest new ways of treating and preventing mental health conditions.
Blood Pressure Meds Increases Mental Disorders, New Study Says
A group of researchers collected data from a wide database of more than 520,000 patients in Scotland. They selected 144,066 patients who were being treated for hypertension with three of the four chosen classes of drugs: beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, and angiotensin blockers.
During the 5-year follow-up, researchers documented an increased rate for mental problems such as depression and bipolar disorder. Among the participants, 299 hospital admissions were noted with findings pointing to depression after the medication started.
"As expected, beta blockers had a higher rate of admission for major depression," Dr. Padmanabhan, the lead author of the study said. The same was true for calcium channel blockers. "(But) the angiotensin group had lower rates than the control group. That was surprising."
Recently, there has been much evidence that links blood pressure medication to mood disorders.
"Mental health is under-recognized in hypertension clinical practice, and the possible impact of antihypertensive drugs on mental health is an area that physicians should be aware of and consider if the treatment of high blood pressure is having a negative impact on their patient's mental health,"
