“Drugs that can give you mood swings” – Reports suggest that beta-blockers and calcium antagonists are medications that can lead to hospitalised mood disorders

Recent reports indicate that individuals taking medication known as beta-blockers and calcium antagonists for a period of more than 90 days may be susceptible to mood disorders that require hospital treatment.

These medications – commonly used to control blood pressure – are said to be a possible cause for major depression and / or bipolar disorder, drawn from comparisons with patients controlling their high blood pressure with angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) instead.

The medication reported to have this causal effect on some individuals includes propranolol, metoprolol, atenolol (for beta-blockers), amlodipine, nifedipine, and verapamil (for calcium antagonists).

Patients who use the medication are advised to continue with the prescription, which has naturally raised concerns given the current findings of this investigation. A senior author at the University of Glasgow said:

“…people need to take their drugs because these drugs are effective at preventing heart attack and stroke.“

But what if they’re causing major mood disorders as well?

Research reports

In order to establish a link between the blood pressure medication and mood disorders, researchers analysed hospital records of patients from the ages of 40 to 80 years old with exposure to the medication exceeding 90 days. What was conclusive was that, when the blood pressure individuals (144,066) were compared to 111,936 individuals not taking the blood pressure medications, 299 patients were hospitalised for mood disorders. Of course, with everything, it was subject to a number of factors that may have altered the results, including age, sexual orientation, and the overall health of the individual.

There is yet to be any concrete evidence to establish a causal link, but there are reasonable grounds to investigate this further based on the information gleaned from the reports so far.

Claims?

If there can be an established causal link between the blood pressure medication and the risk of developing mood disorders, there may be grounds to investigate this from a legal standpoint as well.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing companies should always be vigilant. Serious side effects of taking medication that cause mood disorders is not something to ignore; particularly if patients were not made aware of the possible side effects prior to agreeing to take the medication.