Use of isotretinoin, the active ingredient in the acne drug Accutane, apparently more than doubles the risk of depression, according to results of a recently published study. However, the researchers concluded the absolute risk is probably very small. The study is the first controlled investigation to find a statistically significant link between isotretinoin and depression. Dr. Anick Berard, from CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre in Montreal, and colleagues published the report in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. The report stated:

Depression is likely to be a rare side effect of isotretinoin therapy. Nonetheless, current guidelines should possibly be modified to include psychiatric assessments of patients prior to and during isotretinoin therapy.

Dr. Berard’s team studied 30,496 people from Quebec, Canada, who received at least one isotretinoin prescription from 1984 through 2003. During the study period, 126 of these individuals had a depression-related diagnosis, hospitalization, or treatment. Based on previous research, the authors focused on isotretinoin use in the five months prior to depression diagnosis, which is referred to as risk period, compared with a five-month period a year before the diagnosis, known as the control period.

The team found that after accounting for potential factors that might influence the results, exposure to isotretinoin was associated with a greater than 2.6-fold relative risk of depression. Dr. Berard and his colleagues concluded that because depression could have serious consequences, close monitoring of isotretinoin users is recommended.

Source: Journal of Clinical Psychiatry

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