Health
Painkillers, Antidepressants Increase Risk Of Homicide
Capsules of fluoxetine, the chemical name for the popular antidepressant Prozac, are sorted at a packaging line at Barr Laboratories in Forest, Va., Tuesday, July 31, 2001. (AP Photo/The News & Advance, R. David Duncan III)
(Youth Health Mag) – The first-ever Finnish study dealt with the association between use of painkillers and antidepressants to the risk of homicide. Researchers claim that there is actually a scientific basis that psychotropic drugs may cause violent behavior.
“I think that these chemical substances affect the impulse control of the person,” Dr. Jari Tiihonen, lead author and a professor, told Medical Daily. “The only surprising result was that painkillers also increase the risk,” he added.
Studies in the past have investigated bodies of knowledge regarding the side effects of antidepressants. However, this is the first study to create a probe on the possible side effects of some pain killers and antidepressants specifically benzodiazepam in change of behavior among its users.
“On the basis of our results, benzodiazepines and painkillers, but not antidepressants are linked to an significantly higher risk,” Tiihonen said.
