Kids on antidepressants may experience higher instances of suicidal behavior

By Elizabeth Rhein

Published on March 10, 2006

The studies suggest that in the early stages of treatment with antidepressants, children and teens are slightly more vulnerable to suicidal behavior and thoughts. More than 4500 young patients were tracked for up to four months during their course of antidepressant treatment.

Although there were no suicides in the group, there were more than 200 documented suicide-related events, including suicidal thoughts and behavior. These numbers represent a 95 percent increased risk of suicidal behavior over the control group. Within the group of patients taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, the increased risk was 66 percent. This group of drugs includes such popular antidepressants as Zoloft, Paxil, Prozac, Luvox, and Celexa.

Detractors of the study point out that the perceived increase in such behavior could be a positive result of the drug. Antidepressants are designed to reduce the level of social anxiety and increase patient communication of thoughts and feelings. As a result, it is possible that these children are simply talking about their feelings more than their untreated peers.

The FDA will still allow antidepressants to be prescribed to children, and cautions that young patients should be monitored closely for any change in behavior.

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