Are Children on Antidepressants at Risk for Suicide?
Should we be putting our children on antidepressants? Does the risk of suicide really increase for children using antidepressants? The article headline reads "Children on Antidepressants May Face Higher Suicide Risks". To make a bold statement like this, one would hope that the rest of the article would have strong statistics or research in agreement; at least a bit of convincing evidence to back it up. The FDA is concerned over our depressed youths being prescribed medication that was meant for adults- a reasonable concern. But the FDA's studies have shown no clearly established "link between the use of these drugs and a higher risk of suicidal thoughts or actions", but they "do not rule it out"(Children on Antidepressants May Face Higher Suicidal Risks).
To me this sounds like unintelligible, unfinished research, and a serious claim to be throwing around lightly to a public that is made up of numerous depressed people of all ages. Also, who is it that they are comparing these "high risk" children to? Is it adults on antidepressants? Children who aren't depressed or whose depression goes untreated? The article never specifies. A higher risk of suicidal thoughts and actions would be expected of children who are taking antidepressants for the reason alone that they do in fact, suffer from depression. So it is unclear to a reader whether or not the FDA's finding is really alarming at all.
The article also says that no completed suicides among children have been linked to the use of antidepressants. With the help of an Abnormal Psychology background, I decided that this was an observational study, since they observed situations rather than manipulated them. They most likely used correlation to do a group comparison study; the type of study used when researchers are interested in members of a certain group's "score" on some other variable. They might have used this kind of study to compare the rate of suicide and suicidal thoughts among children who are depressed and taking medication, depressed without medication, not depressed, ect.
I searched Pubmed for related articles and the closest I found was much more professional, complete and informative than the summary article presented to the general public. It talked about how the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior was between 1.5 and 3.2 times more likely in young patients taking antidepressants compared to a placebo. This was an actual experiment-manipulation of a variable within the experimental group and a placebo to avoid demand characteristics within the control group. The article went on to say that the only fault of the study so far is that much larger trials are needed so the results can be stratified by age (UK psychiatrists question SSRI).
Unfortunately, the original article was not a thorough one, and had left me with a skeptic outlook on its accuracy. I don't think that the article gives enough information about the study's background or the reason for such a seemingly impulsive statement. To feel more secure about the original article, I would want to see numbers, statistics, case studies, and basic facts on the subject-something that would allow me to take seriously the claim that they are making.
I think that this article is a good example of a study that was over simplified and therefore a bit misleading in its confident announcement of depression medication leading to higher suicide rates among children.
Meek, Collin. (2004, February 17). UK psychiatrists question SSRI warnings for under-18s. Canadian Medical Association. http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/170/4/455. April 8, 2004. Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2004) Abnormal Psychology 3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Warner, Jennifer. (2003, October 28). Children on Antidepressants May Face Higher Suicidal Risks. WebMD Medical News. http://content.health.msn.com/content/article/76/89971.htm. April 7, 2004.
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Well written, informative article. As the parent, of a child that took an antidepressent for several months (age 8), it was very scary to put my son on it. I was warned that it could increase suicidal tendencies. . .by his treating psy, at the inpatient hosp. he was in. . for suicidal idation. When we went home, was he gonna' complete what he started, now not cause his BP was out of wack due to a med change? Or because I had allowed them to put him on a med that may help, but could cause his depression to get worse? Even then, I felt that the benifits were worth the risk. I already knew the red flags, and had made sure he got the help needed, would not hesitate to hospitilize again if I felt it was needed. So we continued on a low dose of prozac for about 6 months, with behavioral therapy, and cognitive therapy weekly. It has been almost 2 years since then. With close monitoring of his meds, therapy, and more understanding on the whole families part. . . My son is doing better now. Fewer meds, better control, and happier in general! Oh, how I wish I had something like this back then to help me understand why almost everything the PDoc's put him on was "black labled" for children under 18.
Thanks a more educated mom!
Wow. I don't have children yet myself, but I can imagine that it would be terrifying to be trying to help your child via a method that puts them at risk of other dangers.
I am glad to hear that you and your family found a balance that suited your son. Thank you for sharing your story Navywife.
Fantastic article DKrunner, wow. This is getting a front page nomination from me! Keep up the good writing, thumbs up!
I got prescribed to antidepressants when I was only like 14 or 15. I took them for about a week tops and told my parents not to ever give me them again. They made me feel 10 times worse than before!
Brilliant article.
This immediately caught my attention as my educational background is in psychology.
The problem is not so much the medications available to be taken as they certainly have their place; the problem is medical professionals (and I use the term "professionals" loosely) tend to wrongly diagnose patients, use medication as a first resort rather than a last resort and proper testing and evaluation is not an obligation. As patients and parents of patients we look to a "professional" for advice and often get a curse rather than a cure. Quick fixes to long term problems is never the answer; or at least not the whole answer.
It's similar to children who are given ADHD medications before a true diagnosis is ever possible. The risks far too often outweigh the benefits.
Thanks for such a great article that will offer awareness to people who may be asking themselves, "should my child be taking antidepressants?" I'm thrilled to see it on the front page here at InfoBarrel!
Infobarrel picked a great article to be featured! This is something all parents and Doctors should think about.
I think the whole idea of antidepressants is a slippery slope. I was on Effexor and had one heck of a hard time stopping it. I wrote an article on it, the Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome one, because it was so horrible and even a neurologist ended up calling me more crazy when I told her symptoms. I don't have children, but it I did it would be extremely hard for me to agree to give them antidepressants. I believe I would seek out every other alternative first. Good topic.
My daughter was on them, and it turned out it was her thyroid that was a little out of wack. Instead of more testing, we were just prescripbed antidepressants for a "moody teenager". As an adult her thyroid settled and she is fine. As a parent you have to be involved, you know in your heart whether this is the right treatment or not, not someone who sees tons of kids for 15 minutes at a time tops!
Wow guys, scary/eye opening stories. Oversimplification and "quick fixes" with antidepressants can clearly be dangerous. Thanks for sharing.
this article brings up some good points--most importantly--people need to read something thoroughly when it makes such a broad claim. Having worked in the mental health field for over twenty years and specializing in working with kids and families I can say that anti-depressants can be extremely beneficial for some kids. The important factor is a thorough assessment and careful diagnosis. Also, any prescribed meds has to be monitored.
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I think kids now a days just don't get outside and exercise enough. They are prisoners to their own lives sitting in doors and only communicating with friends with video games where the participate in violent games. These kids need to be outside playing sports.
Thank-you for this article, and the others that you have written on the topic. These articles may save lives and spare families from the unrelenting torment of a suicide death. Thank-you again.
I had to stop and re-read the comments about poor diagnosis and early prescription of medication several times each. Unintended abuse of medication is a huge problem in society.
Derek155 comment about sports is extremely appropriate. I would just add that as well as sports, children should just get out and play, walk on the beach or anything else that frees their minds from stress.
This is a very thoughtful, caring article. I work in a high school where many students use anti-depressants. Some of the same kids abuse drugs and alcohol. Perhaps they wouldn't be depressed if their other addictions were addressed first. Too often the experts prescibe more drugs without accurately assessing underlying problems.
I think people should be treating the cuases of depression with options that don't involve outside chemicals. Many times balance can be regained by doing more activities that raise the level of endorphins in our system.Javr and Derek gave good suggestions for some activities that kids should do regularly. Sometimes kids are genuinely unhappy or don't know how to cope with situations that may be facing in their lives.
As a psychologist I treat depression fairly regularly and have I think kept up with the literature. I am not sure there is conclusive data about children and teens, but there is some. One thing most researchers ignore is the rebound phenomena when coming off the SSRI's.. that seems clinically to be the prime time when suicidal ideation spikes, but most studies throw out data from post-drug time periods.
Hmmm...interesting.
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