Antidepressants raise ulcer risk

Taking an antidepressant may increase the odds of developing an ulcer, although the overall risk remains small, according to a report published Tuesday in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

The study of 1,321 people with gastrointestinal bleeding found that such drugs as Eli Lilly’s Prozac, Forest Laboratories’ Celexa and Lexapro, GlaxoSmithKline’s Paxil, Pfizer’s Zoloft, and Wyeth’s Effexor could trigger gastrointestinal bleeding in one of every 2,000 patients. The risk increased to 1 in 250 patients when aspirin or pain drugs also were taken, according to the report.

The medicines interfere with platelets, a critical part of the body’s normal clotting process, researchers said. Drugs that suppress the production of acid in the stomach -- Prevacid, Prilosec, Nexium and Protonix -- may avert bleeding for those most vulnerable and should be considered, researchers said.