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People on antidepressants 'worse drivers'

18/08/2008

Taking antidepressants could have a negative affect on your driving, a new report has found.

A study by the University of North Dakota found that people taking prescription antidepressants appeared to drive less well than those who did not and depressed people on the medication had even more trouble concentrating and reacting while on the road.

The experiment involved 60 people taking part in a number of driving simulations. Thirty-one of the participants were taking at least one type of antidepressant, while 29 took no medicine at all.

The antidepressant group was further divided into those who scored higher and lower on a test of depression.

The group taking antidepressants who reported a high number of symptoms of depression performed significantly worse than the group who took no medication at all, in a series of the driving performance tasks.

"Individuals taking antidepressants should be aware of the possible cognitive effects as [they] may affect performance in social, academic and work settings, as well as driving abilities," the authors wrote.

"However, it appears that mood is correlated with cognitive performance, more so than medication use."

The use of antidepressants has surged over the last decade or so, with the US government claiming that one in ten American women currently takes some kind of antidepressant drug.