A recent study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology revealed that pregnant women who take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during their second or third trimesters are five times more likely to have a premature delivery than those not taking them. Such antidepressant drugs include sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), and fluoxetine (Prozac).

Researchers also found that pregnant women who take benzodiazepines, a type of psychoactive anti-anxiety drug, at any point during their pregnancies are also at a higher risk of having a premature delivery. Their babies are also more likely to be born underweight with respiratory and other health problems.

Antidepressants can help depressed patients with physical illness, and doctors should consider them more often, researchers said on Wednesday.

While around 10 percent of patients with physical diseases are thought to suffer from depression, studies suggest doctors are less likely to prescribe antidepressants because they are not sure if the medicines will work well.

Antidepressant (AD) treatment in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients suffering from depression results in significant therapeutic effects without substantially increased rates of discontinuation, a new study has concluded.

According to the Canadian researchers, depression can occur in up to 45 per cent of patients with CAD, where it is associated with an increased risk of acute coronary events and mortality.

The team from Toronto performed a meta-analysis of randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind trials with a database search of the English literature (to March 2008) and manual search of references.

The antidepressant bupropion may hold promise for improving symptoms in younger women diagnosed with so-called hypoactive sexual desire disorder, a study suggests. The disorder, called HSDD for short, is diagnosed when a person has a persistently low interest in sex, and that disinterest is causing personal distress or relationship problems.

When pregnant women take antidepressants, it sometimes causes their babies to hit developmental milestones late, Danish researchers.

However, the delays–up to one month–still place the toddlers within the normal range of development.

“These drugs have an effect on the fetus’ brain,” said Dr. Lars Henning Pedersen, who worked on the study. But, he said, the delays “may not matter for the child at all.” Pedersen, from Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, spoke to Reuters Health in a telephone interview.