Risk of Hair Loss with Different Antidepressants

August 2017 in “ International clinical psychopharmacology ”

Mahyar Etminan, Mohit Sodhi, Ric M. Procyshyn, Michael Guo, Bruce Carleton

hair loss bupropion fluoxetine paroxetine selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors Wellbutrin Prozac Paxil SSRIs SNRIs

TLDR Bupropion causes more hair loss than other antidepressants, with paroxetine causing the least.

This retrospective cohort study analyzed the risk of hair loss associated with different antidepressants using a large US health claims database from 2006 to 2014, involving 1 025 140 new users of various antidepressants. The study found that, compared to bupropion, all other antidepressants had a lower risk of hair loss, with fluoxetine and paroxetine showing the lowest risk (HR=0.68). Bupropion had the highest risk of hair loss when compared to fluoxetine (HR=1.46). The findings indicated that bupropion increased the risk of hair loss more than selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, with paroxetine having the lowest risk among them.

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Research cited in this study

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Human Scalp Hair Follicles Are Both a Target and a Source of Prolactin, Which Serves as an Autocrine and/or Paracrine Promoter of Apoptosis-Driven Hair Follicle Regression

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Risk of Hair Loss with Different Antidepressants

Research cited in this study

research Human Scalp Hair Follicles Are Both a Target and a Source of Prolactin, Which Serves as an Autocrine and/or Paracrine Promoter of Apoptosis-Driven Hair Follicle Regression

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

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research Alopecia Due to Psychotropic Medications

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