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Antidepressants, among the top prescribed drugs on the planet, may be contributing to Alzheimer’s and other brain-destroying dementias, new Canadian research suggests.

According to the study, popular Prozac-like pills known as SSRIs — selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors — and other antidepressants are associated with a twofold increase in the odds of developing some form of dementia, including Alzheimer’s.

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The association was even stronger for people who took antidepressants before age 65.

The study doesn’t prove cause and effect. However, the findings, which are published in the journal Depression and Anxiety, are expected to raise fresh concerns about a class of drugs experts say are being wildly and indiscriminately prescribed for everything from ordinary cases of “sadness” to insomnia, pain and hot flashes.

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“They’re being prescribed ‘off label,’ meaning for non-depression related situations. They’re being prescribed to very young children and to the very old,” said Dr. Darrell Mousseau, a professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Saskatchewan and the study’s senior author.