[Are beta-blockers really depressogenic?]

More than 25 years of the use of systemic beta-blockers in cardiovascular pathologies, but also in various other indications, have yielded a number of reports suggesting that these drugs was linked with the development of clinical depression. Some retrospective studies have been carried out with positive results, but the rare longitudinal prospective studies have failed to confirm the association between beta-blockers use and depression. Clinical, methodological and pharmacological problems may explain these discrepancies and are of great interest.