Overview
- A Penn State laboratory experiment reported Friday tested 64 women and found that unmedicated participants with major depressive disorder were slower to start sweating and had weaker increases in skin blood flow when their core temperature rose.
- Women taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) showed heat responses that matched women without depression, suggesting SSRIs may restore key cooling mechanisms.
- Women taking serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) had heat responses similar to unmedicated depressed participants, indicating SNRIs did not normalize sweating or skin vasodilation in this protocol.
- Patient accounts and pharmacist and charity advice highlight that some people on antidepressants report heat intolerance, so clinicians recommend staying hydrated, keeping cool, checking medication leaflets, and consulting a clinician rather than stopping treatment.
- The study used a controlled passive‑heating protocol on mostly women in their 20s and measured core temperature with an ingestible capsule, so the findings may not apply to men, older adults, exercise, or longer heat exposure and call for broader research and clinician‑patient discussion.