BLOOD PRESSURE DRUGS UP RISK OF SUICIDE

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Swedish researchers report a link between the use of
calcium channel blockers, a class of drugs used to lower high blood
pressure, and the risk of suicide.

In the March 7th issue of the British Medical Journal, Dr. Gunnar Lindberg
and colleagues report that about one tenth of the variation in suicide risk
among 152 municipalities in Sweden was associated with the use of calcium
channel blockers.

None of the other cardiovascular drugs studied was linked with suicide risk
once the research team adjusted the data to account for varying rates of
use. For this reason, the researchers conclude that the increased suicide
risk was unrelated to cardiovascular disease itself.

Separately, Lindberg and his colleagues studied all the people within one
municipality who used blood pressure drugs in 1988 or 1989. They compared
617 users of calcium channel blockers with 2,780 users of other blood
pressure drugs. After controlling for age and sex, they found that the
suicide risk in users of calcium channel blockers was 5.4 times higher than
the risk in users of the other drugs.

"Use of calcium channel blockers may increase risk of suicide," conclude
the researchers.

Previous research has suggested that the use of calcium channel blockers
increases the risk of depression. This effect "...may constitute a link
with risk of suicide," Lindberg's team notes. The investigators point out
that calcium channel blockers "...easily penetrate the blood-brain barrier"
and thus may "...interfere with neurones and receptors involved in the
regulation of mood." SOURCE: British Medical Journal (1998;316:741-745)

Copyright © 1998 Reuters Limited.