Use of Common Psychiatric Medications and Risk and Prognosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2834877?guestAccessKey=85dde644-566e-4c30-a180-5a42d89d815e&utm_term=060425&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_medium=referral&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--Isy6gfv_efnP7_KYGF1Vl7MAWsSrQtR1KG1cseyZ1a9U0m_vcwIGqJo17zBOSNdblJTeJUl_5XPvKd0CPKZP5LlYpeA&_hsmi=365023293&utm_content=tfl&utm_source=for_the_media These psych meds come with a higher risk of ALS, study says Prescribed use of common psychiatric medications comes with a higher risk of later developing the devastating neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, according to a study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. Specifically, the use of anti-anxiety meds, antidepressants, or hypnotics/sedatives was associated with a 34%, 26%, and 21% higher risk of ALS respectively. Using these drugs before diagnosis was also linked with poor survival afterward. Researchers analyzed data from all patients diagnosed with ALS in Sweden between 2015 and 2023. That constituted more than 1,000 people, each of whom was age- and sex-matched with up to five people from the general population, as well as their siblings and spouses. The results shouldn’t be seen as cause to quit your meds. For people who used medication within a year before their ALS diagnosis, the link could reflect reverse causation, the authors wrote, as the disease can come with psychiatric symptoms. And even for people who used these meds more than five years before their diagnosis, the psych conditions could be initial symptoms. More research is needed.