China Medical University Reports Findings in Gastrointestinal Bleeding (Dose of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in older adults): Digestive System Diseases and Conditions – Gastrointestinal Bleeding

2024 JAN 03 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Digestive System Diseases and Conditions - Gastrointestinal Bleeding is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating from Taichung, Taiwan, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been associated with an increased risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) in older patients but little is known about the risk associated with individual SSRI drugs and doses. To quantify the risk of UGIB in relation to individual SSRI use in older adults.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from China Medical University, “We conducted a nested case-control study within a cohort of 9565 patients aged 65 years prescribed SSRIs from 2000 to 2013 using claims data of universal health insurance in Taiwan. Incident cases of UGIB during the follow-up period were identified and matched with three control subjects. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) of UGIB associated with individual SSRI use and cumulative dose. UGIB risk increased with the increasing cumulative doses of SSRIs (adjusted OR: 1.28, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02-1.62 for the highest vs. the lowest tertile). Compared with users of other SSRIs, fluoxetine users were at an increased risk of UGIB (adjusted OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.03-1.50) with a dose-response manner, whereas paroxetine users had 29% decreased odds (95% CI: 0.56-0.91). The increased risk was only observed among current fluoxetine users.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Fluoxetine therapy was associated with an increased risk of UGIB in a dose-response manner among older adults.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Dose of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in older adults. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2023:2698811231218955. Journal of Psychopharmacology can be contacted at: Sage Publications Ltd, 1 Olivers Yard, 55 City Road, London EC1Y 1SP, England. (Sage Publications - http://www.sagepub.com/; Journal of Psychopharmacology - jop.sagepub.com)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Liang-Wen Hang, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan. Additional authors for this research include Yu-Hsien Li, Chih-Hsin Muo, Sheng-Jen Chen and Pei-Chun Chen.

Publisher contact information for the Journal of Psychopharmacology is: Sage Publications Ltd, 1 Olivers Yard, 55 City Road, London EC1Y 1SP, England.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)