The FDA's warning against high dose antidepressant prescription Citalopram has been called into question by a new study conducted by Ann Arbor VA Healthcare System and University of Michigan.
In August 2011, the FDA warned that people should not take more than 40 milligrams a day of the antidepressant Citalopram because higher doses could cause potentially dangerous abnormalities in the electrical activity of the heart. However, the new study, which is one of the largest analyses to date of outcomes related to Citalopram use, has found no such risks.
As part of the study, the researchers analyzed the data and compared patient outcomes of over 600,000 Veterans Health Administration patients, who received Citalopram prescriptions between 2004 and 2009 with that of more than 300,000 patients who were prescribed a similar antidepressant, Sertraline, which does not have an FDA warning.
According to the researchers, there were no elevated risks of ventricular arrhythmia or death related to higher dosages of Citalopram. As a matter of fact, the higher dosages were tied to fewer adverse outcomes than lower dosages. Similar findings were observed in the comparison drug Sertraline, noted the researchers.
Helen Kales, senior author of the study said, "For some patients, a dosage higher than 40 milligrams per day can be very beneficial. Unfortunately the FDA's warning may have made attaining such a prescription more difficult. Additional exploration into the possible link between Citalopram and cardiac risks will be necessary to provide further guidance to clinicians who are considering the drug for their patients."
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