According to a recent study, the use of isotretinoin, the active ingredient in the acne medication Accutane, more than doubles the risk of depression. However, researchers emphasize the absolute risk is probably small. This study is the first to find a statistically significant correlation between depression and isotretinoin. It monitored 30,496 people from Quebec, Canada who received at least one isotretinoin prescription from 1984 through 2003 and found 126 of the individuals had a depression-related diagnosis, treatment, or hospitalization. Due to the results of previous studies, researchers focused on examining isotretinoin use in the five months prior to the diagnosis of depression compared to a period of five months before the diagnosis, which used as a control period.
Depression is likely a rare side-effect of isotretinoin so current guidelines should be re-examined to possibly include psychiatric assessments of patients before and after taking the drug. http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKCOL65357720080526
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