Researchers from the Taiwan and the United States find through a study of 5,183 subjects with motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) and 31,093 matched controls that subjects who had taken antidepressants were 70% more likely to experience an accident within a month. A similar association was found for benzodiazepines (56% more likely) and sleep aids (42%). This relationship was not found for antipsychotics. Results appear online today in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.
Chang, C, Wu, E., et al; Psychotropic Drugs and Risk of Motor Vehicle Accidents: a Population-based Case-Control Study. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. Online September 12, 2012
Of further interest:
Antidepressants, sleeping pills raise driving risk