Depression, antidepressant medications, and risk of Clostridium difficileinfection
Open Access
- 7 May 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in BMC Medicine
- Vol. 11 (1), 121-11
- https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-11-121
Abstract
An ancillary finding in previous research has suggested that the use of antidepressant medications increases the risk of developing Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Our objective was to evaluate whether depression or the use of anti-depressants altered the risk of developing CDI, using two distinct datasets and study designs. In Study 1, we conducted a longitudinal investigation of a nationally representative sample of older Americans (n = 16,781), linking data from biennial interviews to physician and emergency department visits, stays in hospital and skilled nursing facilities, home health visits, and other outpatient visits. In Study 2, we completed a clinical investigation of hospitalized adults who were tested for C. difficile (n = 4047), with cases testing positive and controls testing negative. Antidepressant medication use prior to testing was ascertained. The population-based rate of CDI in older Americans was 282.9/100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval (CI)) 226.3 to 339.5) for individuals with depression and 197.1/100,000 person-years for those without depression (95% CI 168.0 to 226.1). The odds of CDI were 36% greater in persons with major depression (95% CI 1.06 to 1.74), 35% greater in individuals with depressive disorders (95% CI 1.05 to 1.73), 54% greater in those who were widowed (95% CI 1.21 to 1.95), and 25% lower in adults who did not live alone (95% CI 0.62 to 0.92). Self-reports of feeling sad or having emotional, nervous or psychiatric problems at baseline were also associated with the later development of CDI. Use of certain antidepressant medications during hospitalization was associated with altered risk of CDI. Adults with depression and who take specific anti-depressants seem to be more likely to develop CDI. Older adults who are widowed or who live alone are also at greater risk of CDI.This publication has 29 references indexed in Scilit:
- Regulation of the stress response by the gut microbiota: Implications for psychoneuroendocrinologyPsychoneuroendocrinology, 2012
- Current Status of Clostridium difficile Infection EpidemiologyClinical Infectious Diseases, 2012
- Ingestion of Lactobacillus strain regulates emotional behavior and central GABA receptor expression in a mouse via the vagus nerveProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2011
- Transient Gastric Irritation in the Neonatal Rats Leads to Changes in Hypothalamic CRF Expression, Depression- and Anxiety-Like Behavior as AdultsPLOS ONE, 2011
- Comparison of the Burdens of Hospital-Onset, Healthcare Facility-Associated Clostridium difficile Infection and of Healthcare-Associated Infection due to Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Community HospitalsInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2011
- Distinct alterations in colonic morphology and physiology in two rat models of enhanced stress-induced anxiety and depression-like behaviourStress, 2009
- Physiological and psychological symptoms of grief in widowsResearch in Nursing & Health, 2007
- Accuracy of ICD-9 coding for Clostridium difficile infections: a retrospective cohortEpidemiology and Infection, 2006
- Bidirectional associations between depression/anxiety and bowel disease in a population based cohortJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2005
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.BMJ, 1992