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Canadians Find Link Between Suicides and Warnings on Antidepressants
Yet another university study links a drop in the use of antidepressant medications to an increase in teen suicides. This time, Canadian scientists at the University of Manitoba found that teen suicides climbed 25% after the appearance of new warnings against the use of such drugs among teens and children.
"We are concerned that the way things are communicated may have unintended consequences," said psychiatrist Dr. Laurence Katz, whose study appears in the
Canadian Medical Association Journal.
He also pointed to another Canadian study, this one from Kinank Child and Family Services that revealed that 38% of parents are too embarrassed to admit that their teen may need treatment for anxiety or depression.
Labels: anti-depression_medications, mental_health, suicide
posted by ByParents-forParents at 2:39 PM
FDA Strengthens Warnings for Teen Antidepressants
On May 3, 2007, the Food and Drug Administration expanded "black box" warning labels on the use of antidepressants for adolescents. The new rules require a warning that the drugs increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among users ages 18 to 24 years old. There is no increased risk for those over 24 years, and the risk actually decreases among people over 65 who take such medications.
This change occurs less than a month after research printed in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that antidepressants do more good than harm among adolescents, and that the increased risk of suicide created by their using such drugs was minimal.
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Labels: adolescents, anti-depression_medications, suicide
posted by ByParents-forParents at 10:40 PM
