Mood problems common with long-term steroid use

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Mood problems common with long-term steroid use

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Some 60 percent of people who use steroids long

term for asthma and other diseases will develop a mood disorder, such as

depression or manic depression, according to findings from a small study.

Mood changes are a well-known side effect of short-term steroid use, Dr. E.

Sherwood Brown, from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in

Dallas, and colleagues note. In contrast, limited data are available

regarding the effects of long-term use on mood.

To investigate, the researchers used a variety of tests to evaluate mood in

20 patients receiving the steroid prednisone for asthma or rheumatic disease

and 14 similar patients not treated with steroids. All of the prednisone

users had been taking the drug on a daily basis for at least 6 months.

The researchers' findings are published in the ls of Allergy, Asthma,

and Immunology.

Most of the tests showed that depressive symptoms were more common among

steroid users than among comparison subjects. In addition, one test

indicated the steroid users were at increased risk for manic symptoms.

Overall, twelve of the steroid users could be formally classified as having

a mood disorder.

" Mood symptoms and disorders are common in ... steroid-dependent patients, "

the researchers state. Unlike short-term steroid use, long-term therapy

seems to be more associated with depressive rather than manic symptoms, they

add.

SOURCE: ls of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology, May 2004.