Perhaps antidepressants may not be linked to hip fracture after all

In a large observational study from Sweden involving over 200,000 people aged 65 years or older who had a prescription of antidepressants filled , matched by birth year and sex to 1 control participant not prescribed antidepressants, incident hip fractures occurring in the year before and year after initiation of antidepressant therapy were registered. Associations were investigated using multivariable conditional logistic regression. Antidepressant users sustained more than twice as many hip fractures than did nonusers in the year before and year after the initiation of therapy (2.8% vs 1.1% and 3.5% vs 1.3%, respectively, per actual incidence figures). In adjusted analyses, the odds ratios were highest for the associations between antidepressant use and hip fracture 16 to 30 days before the prescription was filled (odds ratio, 5.76; 95% CI, 4.73-7.01). This finding raises questions as to whether a causal relationship exists.