Alopecia Associated With Treatment With Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

January 2006 in “ Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety ”

Karin Hedenmalm, Anders Sundström, Olav Spigset

alopecia selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors SSRIs sertraline citalopram hair regrowth hair loss Zoloft Celexa

TLDR SSRIs can cause hair loss, especially sertraline, with higher risk in women.

The study investigated the link between alopecia and SSRIs using data from SWEDIS and Vigibase, identifying 27 reports of alopecia, predominantly in women (88.9%). Sertraline had a significantly higher reporting rate of alopecia compared to citalopram (20.1 vs. 4.5 reports per million patient-years). Sertraline was significantly associated with alopecia in both databases, while citalopram was only significant in Vigibase. No significant associations were found for other SSRIs. The study concluded that alopecia is a rare adverse reaction to SSRIs, with varying risks among different SSRIs and a potentially higher risk in women. Hair regrowth after discontinuing or reducing SSRIs suggested a dose-dependent effect.

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research Alopecia Associated With Treatment With Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

25 citations , January 2006 in “Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety”

SSRIs can cause hair loss, especially sertraline, with higher risk in women.