Antidepressants were linked to poor driving by a team of researchers from the University of North Dakota in a study presented during the weekend at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Boston. The study was titled “The Effects of Antidepressants on Cognitive and Driving Performance.”

The researchers led by Holly J. Dannewitz based their findings on the analysis of 60 people who participated in a driving stimulation. The participants had to make a series of common driving decisions, such as reacting to brake lights, stop signs and traffic signals.

Thirty one participants who were treated with antidepressants for their high level of depressive symptoms performed significantly worse on many of the tasks given. The researchers believe it could be either the antidepressants themselves or the condition for which they were prescribed for, usually depression.

“Individuals taking antidepressants should be aware of the possible cognitive effects as they may affect performance in social academic and work settings. However, it appears that mood is correlated with cognitive performance,” Dannewitz said.

According to the 2004 Health United States report, issued by the National Center for Health Statistics, Americans’ use of antidepressants such as Prozac, Paxil or Zoloft has tripled in the last decade with one in ten American women taking some form of antidepressant drug.

The researchers said they need more study on this issue, but “there certainly seems to be more sort of link” between antidepressants, depression and driving.