tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820271594370707903.post4106834469659761122..comments2010-02-20T11:25:21.858-05:00meghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471588163386318005noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820271594370707903.post-41070142745338821532010-02-20T11:25:21.858-05:002010-02-20T11:25:21.858-05:00Hi Murfomurf, thank you for your comment. You make some very interesting and valid points. In most cases, causation is very hard to determine, however often times different aspects may be correlated in some way. I think you may have touched on some correlations that need further investigation. <br /><br />I would love to hear your opinion on other topics as well. Thanks again for your contribution!meghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471588163386318005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820271594370707903.post-15102632521037730882010-02-18T05:35:43.099-05:002010-02-18T05:35:43.099-05:00As a post-menopausal woman who has been depressed most of my life and on various antidepressants for 20 years, I can understand how antidepressant use might seem related to CVD. I think there are too many confounding factors to conclude the increased CVD is actually due to the medication use. The problem with treated depression is firstly that most people are not treated optimally, and certainly not optimally all the time. Secondly, many antidepressants cause weight gain (quite rapid at first eg 5 to 10 kgs in a few months)- very bad for CVD, since this weight is rarely lost again in your lifetime. Even further, depression (and some anti depressants themselves,)makes people less active- many depressives (including myself) may spend large amounts of time each day for months or years hiding away in bed or immobilised on the sofa doing very little. It is very hard to get involved in any gym or walking programs because of the feelings of isolation, fear of bursting into tears and fear of not being accepted by others. I actually fear death from stroke or accelerated heart disease because of my depression and deliberately try to get moving once every hour while awake, but I doubt many others do this! I think special programs of phone reminders to exercise would work wonders as part of depression therapy, just as they ought to work with ordinary people who lack motivation to control their weight or eating.Murfomurfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12975382358013125434noreply@blogger.com