Suicide Risk in Two Common Antidepressants the Same

A recent study looks at how common antidepressants used to treat behavioral disorders could potentially increase suicide risk for some patients.

Of course, this fact is nothing new.

However, according to researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, they found that the suicide risk for two of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants was the same.

"It is important to study this group of children and adolescents because many children are treated with these medications in the U.S. each year and we need to understand the differential risks for suicide attempts and completed suicides," said study author William Cooper, M.D., MPH, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Pediatrics and professor of Health Policy according to Medical Xpress.

The study authors examined young children and adolescents that were taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-noreinephrine reuptake inhibiters (SNRIs). Due to concerns in 2004 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the researchers had been worried that various antidepressants could potentially increase a child's risk of suicide. Therefore, companies manufacturing the drugs were required to include a black box warning regarding such possibilities.

Researchers examined data from 36,842 children between the ages of six and 18 who were enrolled in Medicaid from 1995 to 2006. All of the children were new to antidepressant use, with 47.4 percent suffering from major depression disorder (MDD) and 25 percent dealing with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Study findings showed that 415 of the participants had to be medically treated for a suicide attempt, and four actually died from suicide, with the researchers concluding that there was no evidence to support whether the risk differed for either type of the two antidepressants.

"These findings provide important information about the relative risks of the more recently approved antidepressants to help guide decision making by patients, their families and their providers," Cooper said. "But more research is needed to understand other safety aspects of medications used to treat children so that families and providers can make informed decisions."

What do you think? 

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Pediatrics.