A study involving 18,700 Quebec residents aged 65 and older with cataracts and 187,000 age-matched Quebec residents without cataracts, found that people taking SSRIs were 15 percent more likely to be diagnosed with cataracts than those not taking these drugs.

Those taking paroxetine (Paxil) carried a 23 percent higher risk of cataract surgery. This is yet another potentially serious set back for the GSK drug, questioning its safety. Paxil is currently the only drug in its class to carry a Category D pregnancy warning. The company faces more than 800 lawsuits alleging that children born to mothers who took Paxil in the first trimester suffered from serious congenital heart defects and other birth defects as a result of exposure to the drug.