Invasive Cervical Cancer and Antidepressants: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

To our knowledge, no prior population-based study has been published wherein the primary aim was to evaluate whether an association between psychotropic drug prescription and cervical cancer exists. Herein we have conducted the first study that primarily aimed to determine the association between antidepressants use and risk of invasive cervical cancer in the general population. This is a population-based study utilizing Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. We identified 26,262 cases with invasive cervical cancer and 129,490 controls. We adopted the conditional logistic regression model as the statistical method and adjusted for potential confounding factors. The prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (adjusted OR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.84–1.04), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), mirtazapine and bupropion, adjusting for cumulative dose, was not associated with an increased, or decreased, risk for invasive cervical cancer. An association between trazodone prescription and invasive cervical cancer was observed (adjusted OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.03–1.43). An association between the major classes of antidepressants and invasive cervical cancer was not observed herein. Our preliminary finding regarding a possible association between trazodone and cervical cancer requires replication.