New Research Hopes to Uncover Connection between Antidepressants and Suicidal Behavior

By Keely Hyslop

Published on January 15, 2007

Most of the studies will focus on suicidal behavior among children and adolescents who use antidepressants.

One of the planned studies will utilize more sensitive statistical approaches to analyze existing data on child and adolescent antidepressant use. Another project will attempt to develop a standardized computer tool to screen for suicidality in adolescent antidepressant users. A third study will focus on data obtained from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Registry for Depression.

The research projects are in addition to other SSRI studies the NIMH is already funding. These projects include the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression study, the Treatment of Adolescent Suicide Attempters, and the Treatment of SSRI-Resistant Depression in Adolescents.

In 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered that all SSRI medications carry a "black box" warning indicating an increased risk of suicidal thoughts among children and adolescents. A black box warning is the most serious warning used for the labeling of prescription drugs.

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