| just_ed53spam@yahoo.com 2006-08-27, 2:26 am |
| Ilena Rose wrote:
> A study involving nearly 5,500 adults and children has added to the
> evidence that common antidepressants increase suicide risk for
> children
> and adolescents.
>
> The study found that children aged 6 to 18 who were treated with
> antidepressants were 1.5 times more likely to attempt suicide, and 15
> times more likely to die of the attempt, than children who were
> diagnosed with depression but did not receive drug treatment.
>
>
> Adults who used the drugs did not show a similar trend, and the risk
> appeared to be linked to certain types of antidepressants and not
> others. Effexor (Venlafaxine), a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake
> inhibitor (SNRI), was associated with 2.3 times the risk of suicide
> attempts.
>
>
> Tricyclic antidepressants and the selective serotonin reuptake
> inhibitor (SSRI) *Zoloft* were also strongly linked with suicide
> attempts.
>
>
> Children and adolescents who used antidepressants were at the highest
> risk for suicide in the period immediately after a hospitalization,
> and
> especially if they were just beginning to use antidepressants for the
> first time.
>
>
> Two years ago, the FDA directed manufacturers of SSRI antidepressants,
> which include Celexa, Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft, to put a special
> "black
> box" warning on the drugs' label alerting health care providers of the
> suicide risk.
>
>
> Archives of General Psychiatry August 2006; 63(8): 865-872
> http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/63/8/865
>
>
> iVillage.com August 7, 2006
> http://health.ivillage.com/othernew...hpjn9ds,00.html
1. since the controls were NOT matched for severity of depression,
its likely that the most severely depressed were the ones which got
drugged. It might be that all of the drugs reduced the rate of suicide
(or not) this study doesn't show cause / effect.
This point was made in parts of the news story which
Ilena Rose trimmed:
"The authors warned that the statistics on suicide deaths were
based on only eight people. These eight may have been among
the sickest, which may have skewed the results. "
and
' "In order to be due to the depression, there would have to be
differences in depression between groups," Olfson said.
"I can't completely exclude that possibility, and those that
are more severely ill get more medications, '
2. The 15 to 1 was the increased likelyhood that a drugged
kid's suicide attempt resulted in death, not the increased
likelyhood of suicide. That would be 1.52 x 15.5, over 23 to 1.
3. These stats were pooled over all of the drugs. While
Zoloft was the only SSRI with increased suicide attempts
it was not the drug with the worst number for that overall.
The 15:1 was for all drugs, not for Zoloft at all, so the title
for this thread was wrong.
Unless you have more data than the abstract and news story
we don't know if Zoloft, specificly, was associated with any
increased risk of death from suicide attempt. There was
no number given for just Zoloft.
Venlafaxine (Effexor) was the drug with the worst numbers (per
the news story: "was associated with 2.3 times the risk of
suicide attempts compared with no drug treatment at all. " ).
This would seem to be a worse drug, except that I see
descriptions on the web that this is used to treat "Major
depressive disorder" so these patients were in worse
condition that those who got milder drugs like SSRIs etc.
|