Antidepressants Do Not Increase Teen Suicide Risk

Antidepressants, a class of medications commonly used to treat depression has been linked to an increased rate of suicide in teenagers and young adults. Strangely, a report that covered the year 2004, which was the latest for which data was available, said that teen suicide rates had increased. Coincidentally, 2004 was also the year that the Food and Drug administration required the anti-depressants carrying warning labels about the possible increased risk of teen suicides through use of these pharmaceuticals.

The New York Times recently reported that the rate of teen suicide rose, while the overall rates of suicide in the country have fallen. One possible reason the story itself sites the declining prescriptions and use of antidepressants commonly used to combat depression. The warning labels that antidepressant bottles currently bear was ordered by the Food and Drug Administration in 2004. Since that time bottles of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and other commonly prescribed psychotropic drugs bears a lable that reads, "Antidepressants increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior ... in children and adolescents with major depressive disorder and other psychiatric disorders."

It seems that the Food and Drug Administration and other scientists at the time may have acted prematurely as studies conducted since the FDA ordered the warning label to be put on the drug bottles shows that antidepressants actually decrease the risk of teen suicide. The rates of teen sucide and young adults killing themselves as well as older people who suffer from depresison seems to be highest before patients start therapy for depression.

From 2003 to 2004, the year when the warning labels for antidepressants were ordered, teen suicide jumped by 7.32% according to the Centers for Disease Control. Cricitcs of the measure point out that the warning labels were ordered merely to cover the drug companies from law suits when, at least in this case, they had done nothing wrong and the study was not properly conducted. It looks as if the warning labels will have to be rescinded on antidepressants and teens at risk of committing suicide will have to be watched closely in the early stages of clinical depression. It may take a while for the warning labels to be removed as the 2004 decision needs to be reversed and scientists at the FDA would like more data before making a decision.

Sources:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20070907/cm_huffpost/063482

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6254504/

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/07/health/07suicide.html