New Findings on SSRIs and Youth Suicide Contradict FDA Warnings

Apocalypse Suicide Page
Good Mood
Living with Depression
Mental Health Recovery
NIMH
SHOCKED! ECT

HealthyPlace.com Radio
Depression Support Groups

Books on Depression
Conference Transcripts
Depression Videos
Diaries - Journals
Disorders Definitions
Mental Health News
Online Depression Tests
Psychiatric Medications
Resources
Site Map

Email
ICQ
Instant Messenger

Visit and Post

Abuse
ADD/ADHD
Addictions
Anxiety-Panic
Bipolar
Eating Disorders
Personality Disorders
Self-Injury

send this page to a friend

New Findings on SSRIs and Youth Suicide Contradict FDA Warnings

(November 23, 2006) - Contrary to the FDA’s warnings, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) might decrease suicide risk in children and adolescents, a newly published study suggests.

FDA in 2004 ordered a “black box” warning for all antidepressants after the agency’s analysis of pooled data from short-term, placebo-controlled trials suggested that antidepressants increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior among youths.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago, however, compared suicide rates of children ages 5 to 14 in each United States county from 1996 to 1998 against county-level data on SSRI prescriptions. Results were adjusted for sex, race, income, access to mental health care, and suicide rate variations by county.

Counties with the highest SSRI prescription rates had the lowest annual suicide rates among youths ages 5 to 14, the researchers found. The suicide rates ranged from 1.7 per 100,000 in counties with low SSRI prescription rates, to 0.7 per 100,000 in counties with high SSRI prescription rates. The overall national suicide rate among this age group was 0.8 per 100,000.

According to the data, 933 children ages 5 to 14 committed suicide across 3 years. The researchers speculate that without SSRIs, another 253 youths each year would have killed themselves.

Findings from the National Institute of Mental Health-funded study appear in the November American Journal of Psychiatry.

Source: Current Psychiatry Online

Last updated: 11/06

New Findings on SSRIs and Youth Suicide Contradict FDA Warnings

Related Stories