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Teen Suicide Spike Linked to reduced SSRI use

Posted by notfred on February 12, 2007, at 15:46:51

In reply to Re: Teen Suicide Spike Linked to SSRI Black Box, posted by notfred on February 12, 2007, at 15:21:45

http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.asp?docID=535841

"I have no doubt that there is such a relationship," said Dr. Charles Nemeroff, chairman of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Emory University School of Medicine.

"The concerns about antidepressant use in children and adolescents has paradoxically resulted in a reduction in their use, and this has contributed to increased suicide rates."

"This is very disturbing news," said Dr. David Fassler, clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. "The adolescent suicide rate has been declining steadily since the early 1990s.

"The sudden increase in the adolescent suicide rate," Fassler continued, "corresponds to the significant and precipitous decrease in the use of SSRI antidepressants in this age group."

The nonprofit group Mental Health America has also called for a further look into the FDA's decision to strengthen warnings on SSRIs.

"As a result of the agency's activities, dramatic decreases in the use of SSRIs in the adolescent population were noted," said David Shern, president of Mental Health America in a statement issued Monday. "Other research has indicated a general relationship between the use of SSRIs and decreasing suicide rates in the general population.

"We must therefore wonder if the FDA's actions and the subsequent decrease in access to these antidepressants have caused an increase in youth suicide."

Warning Labels May Scare Doctors, Parents

Some doctors say the additional black box warnings may have led medical professionals to be less confident in prescribing antidepressants.

"In the state of Michigan, we have found that our colleagues in pediatrics have become increasingly uncomfortable with the prescription of SSRIs following the institution of the black box warning," said Dr. Sheila Marcus of the section of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Michigan Hospitals.

"The past history of such FDA warnings has revealed that they create barriers to care and unnecessarily frighten families away from seeking treatment," Nemeroff said.


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URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070207/msgs/732167.html