Lithium and Sertraline: what the research says

Read this first

An evidence index, not guidance.

Every statement below is attributed to a named, dated, linked source.

This page lists published research relevant to Lithium and Sertraline. It deliberately does not state whether the combination is safe, whether it interacts, in which direction, at what dose, or how far apart to take them.

A study appearing here is not proof that an interaction exists. Two substances can be named together in a paper that never tested them in combination, and a source listed as background may cover only one of them.
Findings are quoted from each abstract as the authors wrote them. NutriStack has not re-analysed, pooled, or reconciled them, and they may disagree with each other.
NutriStack’s own interaction assessment for this pair is not published here. It has not completed qualified-human clinical review, so it is withheld from search. See the publication gate.
Nothing here is medical advice. Decisions about prescription medication and supplements belong with your prescriber or pharmacist, who can see your full regimen.

The research

3 studies naming Lithium and Sertraline.

Strongest relevance first: papers naming both substances in the title, then human trials and systematic reviews.

Priapism with sertraline and lithium.

Journal of clinical psychopharmacology · 1994 · PMID 7884031

Case ReportsLetterHuman subjects

Names both Lithium and Sertraline in its title.

Sertraline does not alter steady-state concentrations or renal clearance of lithium in healthy volunteers.

Journal of clinical pharmacology · 1992 · PMID 1640004

Clinical TrialComparative StudyRandomized Controlled Trial

“Seven subjects who received lithium plus sertraline experienced side effects, mainly tremors, possibly related to treatment, whereas none of those administered lithium plus placebo experienced side effects. No sertraline-related laboratory abnormalities were observed.”
Apseloff et al. · From the abstract

Names both Lithium and Sertraline in its title.

Sertraline-phenelzine drug interaction: a serotonin syndrome reaction.

The Annals of pharmacotherapy · 1994 · PMID 7919561

Case ReportsReviewHuman subjects

“Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants should not be combined with monoamine oxidase inhibitor antidepressants because of the risk of serotonin syndrome.”
Graber et al. · Authors' conclusion

Names Lithium and Sertraline together in an interaction, co-administration, or pharmacokinetic context.

Limitations

What this evidence cannot tell you.

Search-based evidence indexes have real limits, and it is worth being explicit about them:

Selection. These records were found by searching PubMed titles and abstracts for both substance names alongside interaction and pharmacokinetic terms. Relevant work that phrases things differently, or is not indexed in PubMed, will be missing.
No effect size. The quoted conclusions are the authors’ words about their own study. We have not extracted effect direction or magnitude, and a single study’s conclusion is not a consensus.
Population mismatch. Findings in healthy volunteers, animals, or a specific patient group may not transfer to you, your dose, or your formulation.
Absence is not safety. Few published studies means the combination is under-studied, which is not the same as established as safe.

Nearby evidence

Other pairs with published research.

Pages covering Lithium or Sertraline alongside a different substance.

NutriStack

Track what you actually take.

NutriStack is a free iPhone app for organising a supplement routine: what you take, when, and what the published record says about it. Its exploratory interaction checker covers Lithium, Sertraline, and several hundred other substances.

The checker is a research and organisation tool, not a clinical decision aid, and its per-pair assessments are excluded from search until they pass claim-level review.

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