In the past 10 years, the use of antidepressant drugs has tripled in the United States, where one in 10 women takes at least one antidepressant, according to National Center for Health Statistics’ 2004 Health United States report. A new, separate, study by researchers at the University of North Dakota says those antidepressant medications, as well as the bleak moods that underlie their dispensation, can significantly impair one’s driving ability.

Recruiting 60 participants for a study using simulated driving situations, Holly Dannewitz, PhD, and Tom Petros, PhD, both psychologists at the university, analyzed the decision-making ability of the study participants when faced with common driving distractions that included animals, other cars, bicyclists, helicopters, pylons, and speed-limit signs. Concentration, scanning, and steering abilities were tested.

Of the 60 study participants, 31 took at least one form of antidepressant medication and the remaining 29 did not. Those taking antidepressants were further divided into two subgroups, one reporting a high number of the symptoms of depression, indicating a deeper level of depression, and the other group reporting symptoms in the normal range.

The most depressed study participants turned out to be the worst drivers, who demonstrated difficulties with concentration and the ability to respond effectively to the everyday distractions of driving. The group of people taking antidepressants but falling in the normal range for symptoms exhibited the same level of driving abilities as the control group not taking antidepressant medications.

The research team urges people taking antidepressants to be aware of how their medications affect their driving abilities as well as the way it affects their academic, professional, and social abilities. These precautions are especially urgent, given the rapidly rising number of Americans taking Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft, and other prescription antidepressant medications.

The findings of the study were presented on Sunday to the American Psychological Association during their annual convention in Boston.

Source: American Psychological Association