Posted by SLS on March 5, 2006, at 19:21:41
In reply to Re: NASA's , SSRI, SNRI, etc.}} SLS, posted by sdb on March 5, 2006, at 16:03:43
Hi.
> consciousness is somehow connected to the body.
I agree. Mind and body are inextricable.
> Bad mood means an eventually higher risk for cardiovascular disease
Depression and cardiovascular disease are statistically associated. However, this by itself does not elucidate cause and effect. The article cited misses this important consideration.
> If ssris elevate mood it should diminish the risk for a cv disease.
One would like to think so, but this proposed cause and effect still does not discount other possibilities. Again, all that is stated in the article and many more like it is that there is a statistical correlation between depression and CV disease.
> On the other hand srris probably influence metabolism of the body
Without knowing any better, I would have to agree. Just witnessing the weight-gain produced by SSRIs is enough to infer greater risk for cardiovascular disease and mortality.
Personally, I think depression sets into motion many physiological processes that lead to an increase in the appearance of certain diseases. One can simply consider the excess stress produced by depression as a modulator of health and disease.
One of the things not addressed by the article is the number of years those with depression went untreated previous to the introduction of SSRIs. A whole lot of irreversible damage could have been produced by depression before treatment was initiated. Of course those taking SSRIs would die sooner. It would be these people who would have suffered damage by depression in the first place. There is no control group of people never having suffered from depression who were placed on SSRIs for the sake of this kind of study. I can think of several other scenarios that would account for the statistics presented in the article. The bottom line is that there is no basis for concluding cause and effect, only a demonstration of a statistical association.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:613775
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060304/msgs/616339.html