美国国家公共电台 NPR 1 In 3 Adults In The U.S. Takes Medications Linked To Depression

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

A surprising number of common medications list depression or suicidal thoughts as possible side effects. Those meds include pills to treat acid reflux and anxiety as well as common painkillers¹ and high-blood pressure medications. A new study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association finds that people who take these drugs are actually more likely to be depressed². NPR's Allison Aubrey reports.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE³: If you take medication such as Prilosec or Zantac for acid reflux, a beta blocker for high blood pressure or Xanax for anxiety, do you know about the possible side effects? Mark Olfson is a researcher and professor of psychiatry⁴ at Columbia University.

MARK OLFSON: If you take the time to actually go through the fine print and read the insert, you'll see that each of these medications is associated with depression as an adverse⁵ effect.

AUBREY: More than 200 medications have depression as a potential side effect. Sometimes the risk stems from taking several drugs at the same time. Olfson and his collaborators wanted to find out if people who take these drugs are any more or less likely to actually be depressed. To figure this out, they designed a study that included about 26,000 adults. Everyone in the study listed the medications they were on, and they were screened for depression. Olfson explains they took a survey that asks a range of questions.

OLFSON: They'll ask about people's sleep and their mood and their appetite and their ability to make decisions, thoughts about whether life is worth living, all the kind of basic symptoms of depression.

AUBREY: What happened next is the researchers analyzed⁶ the medication use and the depression screening results to look for a correlation⁷. Were people taking the medications any more or less likely to have depression?

OLFSON: And what we found is that in fact they're more likely. And the more of these medications you're taking, the more likely you are to report depression.

AUBREY: Taking just one of these medications increased the risk slightly, and people who took three or more of these medications were about three times as likely to be depressed. Fifteen percent of them had depression compared to just 5 percent of people who took none of these medications. I asked Olfson if he was surprised by the findings.

OLFSON: Yes. I was surprised by the strength of the association between the number of medications and your likelihood of being depressed.

AUBREY: The findings are notable given how many people take drugs that are linked to depression. The study found about 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. is taking at least one of these drugs. Here's physician Don Mordecai. He's national leader for mental health and wellness at Kaiser Permanente.

DON MORDECAI: People should always be ready to ask, what are the risks and benefits of me taking this medication?

AUBREY: Mordecai says if you start a new medicine, keep track of changes and how you feel.

MORDECAI: People who don't have a history of depression and then suddenly start to have symptoms of depression should be concerned that that's potentially due to a side effect or potentially an interaction.

AUBREY: And he says you can talk to your doctor about stopping a medication. For instance, it may be possible to go off a high blood pressure medication if you make other changes.

MORDECAI: Such as changing your diet, limiting your salt intake⁸, increasing exercise.

AUBREY: Strategies that could help you feel better and reduce the risk of depression. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF LYMBYC SYSTYM'S "FALLING TOGETHER")

1 painkillers   

n.止痛药( painkiller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some painkillers to ease the pain. 医生给了他一些止疼片以减缓疼痛。 来自辞典例句
• The primary painkillers - opiates, like OxyContin - are widely feared, misunderstood and underused. 人们对主要的镇痛药——如鸦片剂奥施康定——存在广泛的恐惧、误解，因此没有充分利用。 来自时文部分

2 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

5 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

6 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 correlation   

n.相互关系，相关，关连

参考例句：

• The second group of measurements had a high correlation with the first.第二组测量数据与第一组高度相关。
• A high correlation exists in America between education and economic position.教育和经济地位在美国有极密切的关系。

8 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。