Taking antidepressants may increase your risk for developing type 2 diabetes, concludes a new systematic review from researchers at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom. After examining the findings of more than 20 studies, use of antidepressants—including SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs, and TCAs—was associated with greater likelihood of having type 2 diabetes, regardless of other diabetes risk factors like obesity. Researchers won’t go as far as to say that antidepressants cause diabetes, but the correlation between the two is clear. As study participants took higher levels of antidepressants for longer periods of time, diabetes incidence increased. The reasons appear to be two-fold: Most antidepressant medications are known to cause weight gain, which may lead to increased insulin resistance that can ultimately cause diabetes. Factors beyond excess pounds could also be at play, too. In some studies, antidepressant users had an increased diabetes risk regardless of weight gain, suggesting that there may be something about the medication that alters insulin resistance, consequently affecting how the body processes sugars. More from Prevention: The Anti-Depression Diet The news is unsettling for several reasons. First, people with diabetes are already more likely to be depressed than those who don’t have the disease, and therefore may more likely to take antidepressants than those without diabetes. What’s more, record numbers of Americans are using antidepressants. (Thirteen percent of the general population and nearly a quarter of women ages 30-64 report taking antidepressants, according to a July 2013 Mayo Clinic Proceedings study.) Coupled with ever-rising obesity rates, our already mushrooming diabetes epidemic could be posed to become even more serious. Does all this mean antidepressant users should stop refilling their prescriptions? Despite the scary-sounding findings, the answer, at least for now, is probably not. “There may be a causative link between antidepressants and diabetes, but…the risk is probably low, and the majority of patients receiving antidepressants will not develop diabetes as a result of their medication,” the researchers write in their review published in Diabetes Care. Instead, share your concerns with your psychiatrist, who can help you make the decision that’s best for your mental and physical health. More from Prevention: The Best Treatments for Mild Depression
