Statins May Complement SSRI Therapy for Depression

Combined treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and a statin may have antidepressant effects, according to a new study from Denmark.

To further examine the results of previous studies indicating that the combination of an SSRI and a statin may have superior antidepressant effect compared with an SSRI alone, the researchers conducted a nationwide cohort study in Denmark and included all patients taking SSRIs between 1997 and 2012.
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The researchers then compared patients taking both an SSRI and a statin with patients taking an SSRI alone and tracked how many patients contacted a psychiatric hospital for any cause or for depression specifically, those who exhibited suicidal behavior, and those who had died.

Of the 872,216 patients included in the study, 113,108 patients were on SSRI-statin combined treatment.

Those on combined treatment had significantly lower rates of contacting psychiatric hospitals for any cause and for depression specifically, compared with those on an SSRI alone.

Also, combined therapy was not associated with significant increases in morality or suicidal behavior.

“In a large naturalistic cohort, concomitant treatment with SSRIs and statins resulted in robust advantages compared with SSRIs alone,” the researchers concluded.

—Amanda Balbi

Reference:
Köhler O, Gasse C, Petersen L, et al. The effect of concomitant treatment with SSRIs and statins: a population-based study. Am J Psychiatry. 2016;173(8):807-815.