Antidepressants are frequently prescribed to people with dementia for symptoms like anxiety, depression, aggressiveness and sleeplessness.

But a specific class of antidepressant medications — selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) — actually might speed up brain decline among some dementia patients, a new Swedish study suggests.

Heavier doses of certain SSRIs are tied to a higher risk for severe dementia, researchers reported in a new study published Feb. 24 in the journal BMC Medicine.

Taking more than the average amount typically prescribed for these drugs was linked to an additional decline of 0.42 points per year in a dementia scale that runs from 0 to 30, researchers found.

The SSRI drug escitalopram was associated with the fastest cognitive decline, followed by citalopram and sertraline.

Mirtazapine, which works in a different way, had less negative impact on brain function, researchers found.

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