Four commonly prescribed antihypertensive medications may affect mood disorders, such as depression or bipolar disorder (Hypertension 2016 Oct 10. [Epub ahead of print]).

The researchers compared four common classes of antihypertensive drugs against the risk for mood disorders and found two drugs were associated with an increased risk for mood disorders, while one decreased the risk, according to Sandosh Padmanabhan, MD, PhD, a study author and a professor at the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, in Scotland.

“Mental health is underrecognized in hypertension clinical practice, and the possible impact of antihypertensive drugs on mental health is an area that physicians should be aware of and consider if the treatment of high blood pressure is having a negative impact on their patient’s mental health,” Dr. Padmanabhan said.

Researchers collected data on 525,046 patients (aged 40-80 years) from two large secondary care Scottish hospitals. They selected 144,066 patients being treated for hypertension with angiotensin receptor blockers, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers or thiazide diuretics. They were compared with a control group of 111,936 patients who were not taking any of these medications. Researchers followed the patients for five years documenting hospitalization for mood disorders, such as depression or bipolar disorder. After more than 90 days on the antihypertensive medications, they found the following:

  • There were 299 hospital admissions, predominantly due to major depression, among the patients studied, at an average 2.3 years after patients began antihypertensive treatment.
  • Patients on beta blockers and calcium channel blockers were at a twofold increased risk for hospital admission for mood disorders, compared with patients on angiotensin receptor blockers. Patients taking angiotensin receptor blockers had the lowest risk for hospitalization with mood disorders, compared with patients on antihypertensives and those who were not taking antihypertensive therapy.
  • Patients taking thiazide diuretics showed the same risk for mood disorders compared with patients taking no antihypertensive medications.