This week Mad in America examines three studies related to the adverse effects of psychotropic drugs and one that investigates the effect of keto diets on mental health symptoms. These studies found that psychotropic drugs, including SSRIs, SNRIs, tricyclic antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and antipsychotics, all had adverse effects on heart health. Antidepressants, mood stabilizers, benzodiazepines, and hypnotics have also been linked to pancreatitis. The last study finds that keto diets are linked to reduced symptoms of depression.
Antidepressants Linked to Increased Risk of Death After Cardiothoracic Intensive Care
A new preprint set to be published in Scientific Reports finds that starting antidepressants after cardiothoracic intensive care is linked to increased risk of death. This research, led by Erik Von Oelreich, also finds patients that started taking antidepressants after cardiothoracic care spent more days in the hospital.
The current work examined new antidepressant use after patients received intensive cardiothoracic care in terms of prevalence, associated factors, and outcomes. The authors collected data from Swedish health registers on patients that survived at least 90 days after their first cardiothoracic ICU admission and had not taken any antidepressants in the six months before that admission. These patients were followed for two years post admission. In total, the researchers examined data from 27,006 patients.
After adjusting for factors such as sex, income, the presence of psychiatric diagnoses, substance abuse, etc., starting antidepressants after intensive cardiothoracic care was linked to a 90% increased risk of mortality. Antidepressant use post ICU was more common for patients that had two or more additional physical illnesses (62% more common), substance abuse issues (67%), psychiatric diagnoses (221%), and ICU stays of longer than seven days (247%).
The work had several important limitations. This study is still in preprint, meaning it has not yet gone through peer review. This data cannot say for certain that antidepressants caused increased risk of death, only that they were linked to higher risk of death. The authors did not have access to data on why antidepressants were initiated, or possible confounding factors such as social support. This research was done on a Swedish population, significantly limiting the generalizability to other populations.
Adverse Cardiovascular Effects Associated with Psychotropics
A new review published in Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety examines the adverse cardiovascular effects linked to psychotropic drugs. This research. Led by Asdaq Shabbir Raja of NHS Highland in Scotland, finds that SSRIs, SNRIs, serotonin antagonist reuptake inhibitors (SARIs), norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and stimulants used to treat ADHD are all associated with adverse cardiovascular effects.
The goal of this study was to highlight both short- and long-term adverse cardiovascular effects linked to different psychotropic drugs. The authors conducted a review of previous research around psychiatric drugs and negative effects related to heart health.
Some SSRIs, TCAs, and antipsychotics were linked to QT prolongation, a problem with the hearts electrical system meaning it takes abnormally long to “recharge” between beats. These three classes of drugs along with methylphenidate, and mood stabilizers like lithium, were linked to torsades de pointes, a specific kind of rapid heartbeat that can be fatal, QT dispersion, a measurement of how out of sync the heart muscles are, and the induction of the Brugada phenotype, a dangerous heart electrical pattern related to irregular heartbeat.
Antipsychotics were associated with increased risk of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle), cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease), fast resting heart rate, cardiometabolic derangement, high blood pressure, low blood pressure when standing and low resting heart rate. ADHD stimulants were linked to cardiovascular disease and fast resting heart rate. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors were associated with low resting heart rate. SNRIs, NDRIs, ADHD stimulants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and reversible inhibitors of monoamine oxidase (RIMA) were all linked to increased risk of high blood pressure. TCAs and SARIs were linked to low blood pressure when standing.
This study had two main limitations. The authors may have excluded some relevant studies. The included studies included different designs, populations, drug exposures, and definitions of some heart health outcomes.
Psychotropics Linked to Increased Risk of Pancreatitis
A new meta-analysis published in Psychiatry Research finds that many psychotropic drugs, including antidepressants, mood stabilizers, benzodiazepines, and hypnotics, are linked to an increased risk of pancreatitis. This work, led by Xiao-Qian Peng from the Shantou University Medical College in China, also finds that first generation-antipsychotics are linked to increased risk of pancreatitis in past users.
The goal of this study was to examine the links between different psychotropic drugs and pancreatitis. The authors performed a systematic review of academic literature in Chinese and international databases that dealt with links between psychotropic drugs and acute pancreatitis. Seven studies were included, six from Europe and one from Asia.
Both SSRI (18% increased risk) and non-SSRI (27%) antidepressants were linked to increased risk of pancreatitis. Benzodiazapines were linked to a 56% increased risk of Panceatitis, with anticonvulsants associated with a 87% increased risk. Valporic acid, commonly sold as the anticonvulsant and mood stabilizer Depakote, was linked to a 127% increased risk. The drug most associated with pancreatitis in the current work was the hypnotic (Z-drug) zopiclone/zolpidem with 222% increased risk. First-generation antipsychotics were linked to a 36% increased risk of pancreatitis in past users. Second generation antipsychotics were not associated with pancreatitis risk.
This research has several limitations. The data was observational. This means the data cannot say definitively that these drugs are causing pancreatitis, only that there appears to be a link. There were only seven studies included. The included studies used different definitions, methods, and measures, which could possibly effect the validity of the current findings. The looked at different exposure timing, with some examining past users, and others looking at current users. The studies mostly came from Europe, with one from Asia. Generalizability to other populations is limited.
Due to the mounting short- and long-term negative effects associated with psychotropic drugs, some service users have sought out alternatives to help alleviate psychological distress.
Keto Diet Shows Promise in Reducing Symptoms of Depression
A new meta-analysis published in JAMA Psychiatry finds that a keto diet shows promise in reducing symptoms of depression, but showed mixed results for symptoms of anxiety. This study, led by Reinhard Janssen-Aguilar from the University of Toronto, reports that quasi-experimental studies found improvements in anxiety symptoms, while randomized controlled trials did not.
The goal of this study was to examine the links between keto diets and symptoms of anxiety and depression. The authors used data from past research that investigated keto diets and mental health symptoms in adults. To be included in the current work, studies had to use a validated psychiatric scale to measure symptoms. In total, the authors examined 50 studies that included 41,718 participants.
Randomized control trials that examined the effects of keto diets on depression symptoms found moderate improvement, with a standard mean difference of -0.48. Quasi-experimental studies also found that keto diets showed moderate to large improvement for symptoms of depression, with a standardized mean change score of -0.66.
Randomized control trials found that keto diets were not linked to improvements of anxiety symptoms. However, quasi-experimental studies found moderate to large improvement, with a standardized mean change score of -0.58.
This research had several limitations. The included studies differed in terms of design, populations, specific diets, and comparison groups. Some included studies had less rigorous designs and did not use a randomized population. Some studies had a short follow up time. As many included studies examined specific populations, this research may have limited generalizability.
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Janssen-Aguilar, R., Vije, T., Peera, M., Al-Shamali, H. F., Meshkat, S., Lin, Q., Lou, W., Laviada-Molina, H., Phillips, M. L., & Bhat, V. (2026). Ketogenic diets and depression and anxiety. JAMA Psychiatry, 83(1), 13. (Link)
Peng, X.-Q., Huang, J., Tong, H. H., & Rao, W.-W. (2025). Psychotropic drugs and risk of pancreatitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychiatry Research, 353, 116749. (Link)
Raja, A. S., Leslie, S. J., Buist, E., Rushworth, G. F., Megson, I. L., & McNamara, N. (2026). Treating hearts and Minds: Adverse cardiovascular effects of psychiatric medications. Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety, 17. (Link)
von Oelreich, E., Larsson, E., Eriksson, M., Oldner, A., & Eriksson, J. (2026). New-Onset Antidepressant Use after Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Is Associated with Increased Long-Term Mortality. Scientific Reports. (Link)
I largely found eating a low carb diet was part of what allowed me to escape the scientific fraud based psych industries.
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“New evidence fuels debate over whether mental health treatment should move beyond medication.”
I didn’t know there was a debate!
Between who and whom? I thought it was pretty clear to everyone by now that “mental health treatment,” whatever form it might take, definitely needs to devalue or entirely put aside medications in favor of techniques that will address the mind directly.
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