Brittle bones caused by your antidepressant?

As if brittle bones and osteoporosis aren't big enough problems already, now a new study shows that some common antidepressant medications can increase the risk for developing fragile bones. The medication culprits are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's) -- several common ones include Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil.

A group of Canadians age 50 and older were tested, and those taking SSRIs had 4% less bone mineral density in their hip bones and had double the chance of breaking a bone (or bones). The problem seems to be in how the drugs affect critical bone-forming cells called osteoblasts, interfering with bone growth and bone mass. At this point the only recommendations from the experts seem to be having awareness of this side-effect before starting any SSRI medication, and possibly taking bone density tests before and during the antidepressant therapy.