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Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been suspected of increasing the risk of bleeding. We examined the risk of upper gastrointestinal tract (GI) bleeding with use of antidepressant medication.

All users of antidepressants in the county of North Jutland, Denmark, from January 1, 1991, to December 31, 1995, were identified in the Pharmaco-Epidemiologic Prescription Database of North Jutland. In the Hospital Discharge Register, hospitalizations for upper GI bleeding were searched among the 26 005 users of antidepressant medications and compared with the number of hospitalizations in the population of North Jutland who did not receive prescriptions for antidepressants.

During periods of SSRI use without use of other drugs associated with upper GI bleeding, we observed 55 upper GI bleeding episodes, which was 3.6 times more than expected (95% confidence …