Common Drugs May Be Contributing to Depression

The New York Times, June 26, 2018. Could common prescription medications be contributing to depression and rising suicide rates? Over one-third of Americans take at least one prescription drug that lists depression as a potential side effect, a new study reports, and users of such drugs have higher rates of depression than those who don’t…Continue Reading Common Drugs May Be Contributing to Depression

A Third of Children Use Alternative Medicines

The New York Times, June 19, 2018. A third of children under 19 are regular users of dietary supplements or alternative medicines. Using data from a large national health survey, researchers found that multivitamins were the most common supplements, followed by vitamin C, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and melatonin. The lead author, Dima M….Continue Reading A Third of Children Use Alternative Medicines

Are prescription medications making Americans depressed?

LA Times, June 12, 2018. The incidence of depression has been rising in the U.S. for more than a decade. So has Americans’ reliance on prescription medications that list depression as a possible side effect. The researchers, led by Dr. Dima Mazen Qato of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois at Chicago,…Continue Reading Are prescription medications making Americans depressed?

More than a third of American adults take prescription drugs linked to depression, study says

The Washington Post, June 12, 2018. More than a third of American adults are taking prescription drugs, including hormones for contraception, blood pressure medications and medicines for heartburn, that carry a potential risk of depression, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dima Qato, an assistant professor at the…Continue Reading More than a third of American adults take prescription drugs linked to depression, study says

Many U.S. adults take medicines that can cause depression

Reuters, June 2018. (Reuters Health) – More than one-third of American adults take medications that have the potential to cause depression, a U.S. study suggests. As of 2015, about 38 percent of adults took one medicine with depression as a known side effect, up from about 35 percent a decade earlier, researchers report in JAMA….Continue Reading Many U.S. adults take medicines that can cause depression

Where Did All The Corner Drug Stores Go? Areas Lose Easy Access To Medicine

WBEZ Chicago, January 24, 2018. You’ve heard of food deserts — often low-income neighborhoods that are more than a mile from a grocery store. Now another service desert is on the rise in these same neighborhoods: pharmacy deserts. As pharmacies slowly begin to close down on Chicago’s South and West sides, residents are finding it…Continue Reading Where Did All The Corner Drug Stores Go? Areas Lose Easy Access To Medicine

Access to Pharmacies Increasingly Difficult on South, West Sides

WTTW News, January 23, 2018. In recent years, pharmacies have increasingly become frontline health care providers, offering a range of services from drug counseling to immunizations to physicals. But in poor communities of color on the West and South Sides of the city, many pharmacies have closed their doors, creating so-called “pharmacy deserts.” These areas…Continue Reading Access to Pharmacies Increasingly Difficult on South, West Sides

UIC Researchers to Address Pharmacy Deserts, Closures in Chicago

WTTW News, October 27, 2017. In some city neighborhoods pharmacies appear to be in abundant supply, but in others they are few and far between. As with areas that lack access to grocery stores, many residents of Chicago now live in “pharmacy deserts.” “Pharmacies are an essential resource for any community. They provide medicines. They…Continue Reading UIC Researchers to Address Pharmacy Deserts, Closures in Chicago

The Dangers of ‘Polypharmacy,’ the Ever-Mounting Pile of Pills

The New York Times, April 26, 2016. Some common combinations that cropped up in the study and could spell trouble: aspirin and the anti-clotting drug clopidogrel (Plavix), both blood thinners that together increase the risk of bleeding with long-term use; aspirin and naproxen (Aleve), over-the-counter drugs that when combined can cause bleeding, ulceration or perforation…Continue Reading The Dangers of ‘Polypharmacy,’ the Ever-Mounting Pile of Pills

Warning: Supplements and medications may not mix

USA Today, April 24, 2016. Americans are taking more prescription medications. They also are taking more supplements — everything from vitamin and mineral pills to fish and flax seed oils. The natural result: More are combining drugs and supplements. That may be riskier than many consumers realize. “It’s a serious concern, and the risk is…Continue Reading Warning: Supplements and medications may not mix