研究發現 超1/3美國人因服用藥物增加了患抑鬱症的機率

More than a third of American adults are taking prescription drugs, including hormones for contraception, blood pressure medications and medicines for heartburn, that carry a potential risk of depression, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

據一篇刊登在《美國醫學協會雜誌》上的報告指出，超過三分之一的美國成年人因服用包括避孕藥、降壓藥和抗酸劑等在內的處方藥，從而增加了患抑鬱症的機率。

The study found that people who took multiple drugs associated with a possible increased risk of depression were also more likely to be depressed, but researchers couldn't distinguish whether the medications were the cause.

該研究發現，那些服用可能增加抑鬱風險的多種藥物的人羣更容易抑鬱，但研究人員無法區分這是否是由藥物引起的。

It's possible people already had a medical history of depression prior to taking the drugs, or the medical conditions they were being treated for could have contributed to their depression.

這有可能是這些人在服用這些藥物前已經有抑鬱病史，也有可能是由他們所服用的藥物引起。

The work is part of a provocative and growing body of research that documents how polypharmacy -- the use of multiple prescription drugs at the same time -- has risen in the United States.

這項研究是一個具有爭議性的、不斷增長的研究機構的一部分，該機構記錄了美國的多重用藥（同時使用多種處方藥）是如何不斷增長的。

The number of Americans taking at least five prescription drugs at the same time rose sharply between 1999 and 2012, and the elderly are particularly at risk for dangerous interactions between drugs.

從1999年到2012年，同時服用至少五種處方藥的美國人的數量急劇增加，在不同藥物之間產生的危險互動中，老年人的風險尤其高。

The study examined drugs that list possible adverse side effects including depression and suicide, but that does not mean the link was always well-characterized -- or that people should stop taking a drug that could be helping them.

這項研究檢查了可能會導致抑鬱和自殺等副作用的藥物，但這並不意味着兩者之間一定是有聯繫的，或者人們應該停止服用這些能幫助他們的藥物。

Painkillers and antidepressants were listed, which could be related to underlying reasons for the depression.

止痛藥和抗抑鬱藥物也在名單之中，它們可能與抑鬱症的潛在原因有關。

Dima Qato, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy who led the study, said that while there has been attention to social factors that increase risk for depression, there is often little attention to the role of medications.

該研究的帶頭人、芝加哥伊利諾伊大學的助理教授迪馬·卡託稱，人們已經關注了抑鬱症風險不斷增加的社會因素，但對藥物的作用卻少有關注。

"We know polypharmacy is growing, we know it is not always promoting good health and longevity in patients, and we know a lot of drugs have certain adverse effects -- and one of them is depression and suicidal symptoms," Qato said.

卡託表示：“我們知道，多重用藥正在不斷增加，我們知道這並不是一定可以讓病人得到健康和長壽，我們也知道很多藥物都有一定的副作用--其中之一就是抑鬱和自殺症狀。”

"As a pharmacist, when a patient comes in and reports depressive symptoms, I just think it's really important to think about what other medications they are on."

“作爲一名藥劑師，當病人出現抑鬱症狀時，我要想，要了解一下病人同時還在服用什麼藥物是非常重要的。”

The study analyzed a detailed survey of thousands of American adults taken every two years between 2005 and 2014, in which people opened their medicine cabinets and showed researchers all the prescription drugs they had taken in the last month. They were also assessed for depression.

該研究自2005年至2014年間每兩年對數千名美國成年人進行了調查。調查中，人們打開藥箱，向研究人員展示他們上個月服用的所有處方藥，並且對他們進行了抑鬱評估。

Over the decade, Qato and colleagues found that 37 percent of U.S. adults, on average, took medications associated with a side effect of depression.

過去十年來，卡託和他的同事們發現，平均37%的美國成年人服用的藥物中其副作用之一是抑鬱症。

The team also found that the number of people taking at least three medications that carried a potential side effect of depression increased over the survey time period, from 6.9 percent in the 2005-2006 survey to 9.5 percent in 2013-2014.

研究小組還發現，在調查期間，服用至少帶有三種潛在抑鬱症副作用藥物的人數有所增加，從2005-2006年調查的6.9%上升至2013-2014年的9.5%。

The rate of depression tripled in people taking at least three medications with a possible side effect, compared to people taking no drugs with that side effect.

與服用沒有這些副作用的藥物的人相比，服用至少三種藥物的人患抑鬱症的機率增加了兩倍。