Antidepressants and gastrointestinal symptoms in the general Dutch adult population
Bernadette Schurink1, Merel M Tielemans, Bryan R R Z Aaldering
1From the *Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen; †Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht; ‡Department of Cardiology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen; §Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Elkerliek Hospital, Helmond; and ∥Department for Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; and ¶Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.
Background:
Gastrointestinal symptoms are frequently reported adverse effects of antidepressants, but antidepressants are also a treatment modality in functional gastrointestinal disorders. We aimed to assess the association between antidepressant use and gastrointestinal symptoms in the general adult population.
Methods:
We assessed gastrointestinal symptoms, medication use, and comorbidity through structured questionnaires in randomly selected individuals. We compared presence of gastrointestinal symptoms in respondents who reported antidepressant use with those who did not. We used multivariable regression analysis to verify the association between antidepressant use and gastrointestinal symptoms.
Results:
In total, 16,758 questionnaires were returned and eligible for analysis. Antidepressant use was reported by 701 respondents (4.2%). Gastrointestinal symptoms were more frequently reported by antidepressant users compared with nonusers (40% vs 25%, P < 0.01). This apparent association between antidepressant use and gastrointestinal symptoms did not remain after adjusting for demographic factors, comorbidity, and use of other medications (adjusted odds ratio, 0.94; 95% confidence interval, 0.74-1.18).
Conclusions:
In our cross-sectional population-based study, we did not find an association between antidepressant use and gastrointestinal symptoms.
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