Relative risks for mortality significantly reduced for any SSRI, fluoxetine, and fluoxetine or fluvoxamine<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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MONDAY, Nov. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) — For patients with COVID-19, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are associated with a reduced relative risk for mortality, according to a study published online Nov. 15 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Tomiko Oskotsky, M.D., from the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues analyzed electronic health records to examine the correlation of SSRIs with outcomes in patients with COVID-19 in a retrospective cohort study. A total of 3,401 adult patients with COVID-19 prescribed SSRIs were identified and matched to untreated control patients diagnosed from January to September 2020.<\/p>\n The researchers found that the relative risk for mortality was reduced for patients prescribed any SSRI (14.6 versus 16.6 percent; relative risk, 0.92; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.99; adjusted P = 0.03), fluoxetine (9.8 versus 13.3 percent; relative risk, 0.72; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.54 to 0.97; adjusted P = 0.03), and fluoxetine or fluvoxamine (10.0 versus 13.3 percent; relative risk, 0.74; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.55 to 0.99; adjusted P = 0.04) compared with matched untreated controls. The association was not statistically significant for receipt of any SSRI that is not fluoxetine or fluvoxamine and risk for death (15.4 versus 17.0 percent; relative risk, 0.92; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.84 to 1.00; adjusted P = 0.06).<\/p>\n “These findings suggest that SSRIs, if proven effective, could be a therapeutic option to reduce mortality among patients with COVID-19,” the authors write.<\/p>\n One author disclosed financial ties to Aria Pharmaceuticals. The author of the editorial is listed as an inventor on a patent application related to methods of treating COVID-19 and disclosed ties to Lundbeck.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n