Use of antidepressants following hysterectomy with or without oophorectomy: A national sample in the US

OBJECTIVE: Hysterectomy is one of the most common gynecological surgeries conducted around the world. Previous studies reported inconsistent results on depressive symptoms experienced after hysterectomy. This study explored the association between hysterectomy with or without oophorectomy and the use of antidepressants. STUDY DESIGN: This cross-sectional study included 4888 subjects between 20 and 80 years old who participated in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2015 and 2018. The associations between hysterectomy with or without oophorectomy and the use of antidepressants were estimated using multivariable logistic regression models. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: There was a positive relationship between hysterectomy, both with and without oophorectomy, and the use of antidepressants after adjusting for all potential confounders (OR = 2.13, 95 % CI = 1.43-3.17, p = 0.000; OR = 2.04, 95 % CI = 1.35-3.06 p = 0.001). In the subgroup analysis stratified by race, a positive association between hysterectomy without oophorectomy was found among non-Hispanic white women (OR = 1.89, 95 % CI = 1.04-3.44, p = 0.038) and women of other races (OR = 3.14, 95 % CI = 1.30-7.56, p = 0.010), and a positive association between hysterectomy with oophorectomy was found among non-Hispanic black women (OR = 3.09, 95 % CI = 1.15-8.27, p = 0.024). However, no association was found among non-Hispanic black and Mexican American women who had undergone hysterectomy with oophorectomy, and it was not reported in women of non-Hispanic white, Mexican American or other race who underwent hysterectomy with oophorectomy. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that hysterectomy was significantly associated with antidepressant use, but the extent of the associations may vary by race.