Antidepressant Drugs
Increase Suicide Risk
Antidepressant Drugs Increase Suicide Risk
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A poor or broken love relationship is one of the chief causes of
depression. Not all people need to resort to antidepressant drugs to
cope, however some do and according to a recent study doing so can
increase suicide risk significantly. The following news article will provide
the details of what the study discovered.
These days herbal remedies for many things including depression are
enjoying a renaissance, and this article should have all of us looking
closer at things like St. Johns Wort and melatonin!
Antidepressants Can Send Suicide Risk Zooming
OTTAWA - Antidepressant drugs taken by -hundreds of thousands of
Canadians double people's risk of attempting suicide, says a Canadian
study.
The study, published in the British Medical Journal, combines the
results of 702 separate smaller studies involving more than 87,000
patients who took a class of antidepressants that includes Prozac,
Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa and Luvox.
The Ottawa scientists who wrote it say much of the evidence has been
available for up to 10 years, but scattered across hundreds of smaller
studies.
"The effect is real. For 10 years there was a signal," said study member
Dr. Paul Hebert.
Hebert said the risk is not very high for one person, but since
antidepressants are prescribed by the millions, it becomes a bigger
problem on a public-health level.
He noted some suicide attempts would be expected in depressed
patients, but the rate increases following treatment with antidepressants
called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). There were also
suicidal effects in patients who took the drugs for dozens of other
conditions.
"We're seeing attempted suicide in some diseases where suicide would
not be expected, such as panic disorders," Hebert said. "It's occurring
across the board in non-depressed individuals."
In 2003, Canadian doctors wrote 15.6 million prescriptions for these
antidepressants - nearly double the total from five years earlier.
Doctors on both sides of the issue caution that people who take these
drugs shouldn't stop doing so upon hearing this news.
"Even if they feel they're having side effects such as agitation or
thoughts of suicide, they should first talk to their doctors," said Dr.
Robert Swenson, a psychiatrist at the Ottawa Hospital.
BY TOM SPEARS - CANWEST NEWS SERVICE
If antidepressant drugs are contributing to an increased risk
of suicide, we have more reason to go herbal than ever!
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