Antidepressant warnings tied to suicide attempts in youths

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Antidepressant warnings tied to suicide attempts in youths

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A move by U.S. health officials to warn the public of an increased risk of suicidal thoughts among young people taking antidepressants was actually associated with an increase in suicide attempts, suggests a new study. It could be that doctors avoided prescribing those medications after media reports of the warnings and children and teens with depression went untreated, researchers suggest in the medical journal BMJ. “In this case, we think we’re seeing the decreased use of the medication in kids who had appropriate use of the medications,” said Stephen Soumerai, the study’s senior author from the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute in Boston. Between 2003 and 2004 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warnings that antidepressants were tied to an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in about one percent of children and teens.

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