What is the connection between beta blockers and depression?
Beta blockers are a class of drugs that are often used to treat hypertension or high blood pressure and various heart conditions. However, some individuals were reluctant to use these drugs because of the perceived link between beta blockers and depression. Scientific studies conducted worldwide have mentioned this connection, although usually reports of beta blockers and depression included individual cases instead of extensive studies. Such reports have caused doctors and individuals to take care of this possibility.
In 2002, a psychiatrist's study at Yale University School of Medicine reviewed a major study of people who use these drugs to explore whether they had proven evidence of the relationship between beta and depression. These studies, which included more than 35,000 individuals taking medicines such as propranolol, did not provide significant evidence for such a connection. According to this research, people take the vertebrapers they did not have a higher degree of depression than in individuals who took placebo. OnlySix of each 1,000 people in these studies reported depressed symptoms after taking beta blockers.
Scientists in California and North Carolina have suggested that the perceived connection between beta blockers and depression may be caused by misunderstanding. Individuals using these drugs sometimes have little chance of developing fatigue. People who are unknown with fatigue can think of it in depression because of two conditions that have similar symptoms. Some doctors cannot distinguish between these diseases when talking to patients taking these drugs and as a result they may mistakenly diagnose patients with depression.
medicines must often be approved by government agencies to sell in most countries. This process may require clinical experiments where medicines are evaluated to determine their safety and potential side effects. Clinical Studies including propranolol and other drugs from this class POnly partial evidence of the connection with depression. According to the analysis performed at the University of Gainesville, Florida, beta blockers and depression were found.
Despite these pieces of research, some individuals, including some doctors, believe that beta blockers can cause depression among some people. Research seems to indicate that in some cases depression may occur, but that it is much less common than previously expected. Individuals who are worried about the prospects of depression when using these drugs may want to consult a doctor to confirm that they do not actually have fatigue.