Observational studyBMC psychiatry2015
Antidepressant use and risk of epilepsy and seizures in people aged 20 to 64 years: cohort study using a primary care database.
Observational study in BMC psychiatry, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 88 citations in OpenAlex.
- Antidepressants for pain management in adults with chronic pain: a network meta-analysis.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2024Pooled it
- Antidepressant use and the risk of seizure: a meta-analysis of observational studies.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- Pharmacological treatment of depression in people with a primary brain tumour.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Diving and antidepressants.Diving and hyperbaric medicine · 2017Guideline
- A Trial of Sertraline or Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Depression in Epilepsy.Annals of neurology · 2019Trial
- Cenobamate and Trazodone Combination Suppresses Seizures, EEG Alterations, Preserves Neuronal Architecture and Normalizes the BDNF/TrkB Expression in PTZ‑Kindled Mice.Neurochemical research · 2026Article
- Article
- Evidence of increased risk of five psychiatric disorders due to antidepressants.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- Computational drug repositioning approach to predict multi-target therapeutics for epilepsy.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Treating Depression With Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: A Clinician's Guide.The American journal of psychiatry · 2025Review
- Navigating the depths: A comprehensive narrative review on depression in people with epilepsy.Heliyon · 2025Review
- Anticipatory anxiety of seizures: What is the best treatment?Epilepsy & behavior reports · 2024Article
- A Case Study and Literature Review of Local Anesthetic Systemic Toxicity During Placement of a Dual-chamber Pacemaker.The Journal of innovations in cardiac rhythm management · 2024Article
- Kratom safety and toxicology in the public health context: research needs to better inform regulation.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Review
- Stress and Epilepsy: Towards Understanding of Neurobiological Mechanisms for Better Management.eNeuro · 2023Review
- Diving with psychotropic medication: review of the literature and clinical considerations.Diving and hyperbaric medicine · 2023Review
- Antidepressants for pain management in adults with chronic pain: a network meta-analysis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Review
- A nationwide study of initiation of antidepressant pharmacotherapy and the risk of seizures.Epilepsy research · 2023Article
- Design, Synthesis, and Pharmacology of New Triazole-Containing Quinolinones as CNS Active Agents.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy: shared neuropathology guides current and future treatment strategies.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEpilepsy is a serious condition which can profoundly affect an individual's life. While there is some evidence to suggest an association between antidepressant use and epilepsy and seizures it is conflicting and not conclusive. Antidepressant prescribing is rising in the UK so it is important to quantify absolute risks with individual antidepressants to enable shared decision making with patients. In this study we assess and quantify the association between antidepressant treatment and the risk of epilepsy and seizures in a large cohort of patients diagnosed with depression aged between 20 and 64 years.
methodsData on 238,963 patients with a diagnosis of depression aged 20 to 64 from 687 UK practices were extracted from the QResearch primary care database. We used Cox's proportional hazards to analyse the time to the first recorded diagnosis of epilepsy/seizures, excluding patients with a prior history and estimated hazard ratios for antidepressant exposure adjusting for potential confounding variables.
resultsIn the first 5 years of follow-up, 878 (0.37 %) patients had a first diagnosis of epilepsy/seizures with the hazard ratio (HR) significantly increased (P < 0.01) for all antidepressant drug classes and for 8 of the 11 most commonly prescribed drugs. The highest risks (in the first 5 years) compared with no treatment were for trazodone (HR 5.41, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 3.05 to 9.61, number needed to harm (NNH) 65), lofepramine (HR 3.09, 95 % CI 1.73 to 5.50, NNH 138), venlafaxine (HR 2.84, 95 % CI 1.97 to 4.08, NNH 156) and combined antidepressant treatment (HR 2.73, 95 % CI 1.52 to 4.91, NNH 166).
conclusionsRisk of epilepsy/seizures is significantly increased for all classes of antidepressant. There is a need for individual risk-benefit assessments in patients being considered for antidepressant treatment, especially those with ongoing mild depression or with additional risk factors. Residual confounding and indication bias may influence our results, so confirmation may be required from additional studies.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.