More fuel for the debate over the FDA black box warning about SSRIs: Two different large observational studies now suggest that antidepressants deter people from attempting suicide, rather than provoking it. An analysis of insurance claims from Group Health Cooperative in Washington state showed depressed patients are at most risk of suicide during the month before treatment, with risk declining afterwards. This was just as true for psychotherapy as for antidepressant medications.
A second study, analyzing records from the Veterans Administration, also showed large reductions in suicide attempts after treatment began.
An editorial in the same issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry urges doctors to reconsider their antidepressants as a way to prevent suicide, not a cause. The consequences of not prescribing them may be fatal, warns the author—especially for adolescents.
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