Susana P. Gaytán Guía
Researcher at the Department of Physiology of the Faculty of Biology of the University of Seville
"It seems to me to be a very rigorous study with a very large study population, and well balanced by gender, so the prospects for future research and clinical use that it proposes should be very much taken into account. Specifically, in their study of the whole population, they found no consistent links between β-blockers and psychiatric outcomes, while they did, and this seems to me very relevant, with reductions in violence. It prompts us to think about possible therapeutic avenues, proposing, therefore, that the use of β-blockers to control aggression and violence be explored further.
This work reframes and clarifies previous debates due to inconclusive results. Due to the large case population and the robustness of the study protocol employed, it provides evidence that the widespread use of β-blockers to control anxiety is not supported by the data obtained and that studies using other designs (e.g. randomised controlled trials) are needed to better understand the role of β-blockers in the treatment of aggression and violence.
Certainly, in all pathologies, multifactorial components must be considered and the individual characteristics of each patient must always be taken into account.