Cohort study on calcium channel blockers, other cardiovascular agents, and the prevalence of depression

Aims Some reports have suggested that calcium channel blockers may be associated with an increased incidence of depression or suicide. There is a paucity of evidence from large scale studies. The aim of this study was to assess rates of depression with calcium channel antagonists using data from prescription event monitoring studies. Methods Observational studies on large cohorts of patients using lisinopril, enalapril (ACE inhibitors), nicardipine (type 2 calcium channel blocker) and diltiazem (type 3 calcium channel blocker) were conducted, using prescription‐event monitoring. Rates of depression in the different drugs and rate ratios (95% CI) were computed. Results The crude overall rates of depression during treatment were 1.89, 1.92 and 1.62 per 1000 patient months for the ACE inhibitors, diltiazem and nicardipine, respectively. Using the ACE inhibitors as the reference group, the rate ratios for depression were 1.07 (0.82–1.40) and 0.86 (0.69–1.08) for diltiazem and nicardipine, respectively. Conclusions This study does not support the hypothesis that calcium channel blockers are associated with depression, when considering patients treated in general practice in the UK.