A study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders last month found that adult women who take antidepressants have a highly increased risk for osteoporosis and bone fractures. Osteoporosis causes bones to become brittle and weak because the body is losing bone mass faster than it is building it. Often the first indicator of osteoporosis is a bone fracture in the wrist, spine or hip.

     White, post-menopausal women do have a risk for osteoporosis generally, but this recent Qatar University study showed that if any woman takes antidepressants, she has a 44% greater risk of developing osteoporosis and a 62% greater risk of bone fractures. Women who take two antidepressants have a 78% risk of osteoporosis and those who take three have a scary 141% risk.

     The Qatar research studied the statistics of over 30,000 women over a two decade period, 1999-2020. Participants’ records contained complete osteoporosis or bone mineral density data and complete prescription medication data, as well as data on other life variables.

     The use of antidepressants by adult women in the U.S. increased in this same two decade period between 1999 and 2020. The study showed the greatly increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures for women was true regardless of the antidepressant they were taking. The study also showed that for each year taking a single antidepressant, a woman’s risk of osteoporosis increases by 6 percent.

     This study, in effect, acts as a long term clinical trial that now points out one more dangerous side-effect for women when they’re taking antidepressants. Currently, the longest clinical trials needed for the FDA to initially approve an antidepressant last 8-12 weeks. Many trials are only 3-4 weeks long.

     Without long term studies such as this Qatar research, the chances for over-prescribing antidepressants become far greater as doctors are prescribing them without knowing the true risks.

     Women are prescribed antidepressants twice as often as men are, and 82% of all advertising for antidepressants is aimed at women.

     Women are Big Pharma’s targets.