Posted by Squiggles on February 12, 2007, at 15:59:51
In reply to Teen Suicide Spike Linked to reduced SSRI use, posted by notfred on February 12, 2007, at 15:46:51
> http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.asp?docID=535841
>
> "I have no doubt that there is such a relationship," said Dr. Charles Nemeroff, chairman of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Emory University School of Medicine.
>
He has no reason to doubt or not to doubt
such a relationship.> "The concerns about antidepressant use in children and adolescents has paradoxically resulted in a reduction in their use, and this has contributed to increased suicide rates."
What's paradoxical about it? Did the warning signal an increase in their use?
>
> "This is very disturbing news," said Dr. David Fassler, clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. "The adolescent suicide rate has been declining steadily since the early 1990s.
>I didn't notice the date - 1999-- if there is a spike in one yr. on account of the Black Box warning, then that is something to consider.
> "The sudden increase in the adolescent suicide rate," Fassler continued, "corresponds to the significant and precipitous decrease in the use of SSRI antidepressants in this age group."There was a time, not so long ago, before the 80s I would say, when antidepressants for adolescents was unheard of. Certainly, it was an odd idea in my youth, and i was am a boomer.
>
> The nonprofit group Mental Health America has also called for a further look into the FDA's decision to strengthen warnings on SSRIs.Yeah, "a further look" -- not so far methinks; pretty soon they will turn the Black Box around.
>
> "As a result of the agency's activities, dramatic decreases in the use of SSRIs in the adolescent population were noted," said David Shern, president of Mental Health America in a statement issued Monday. "Other research has indicated a general relationship between the use of SSRIs and decreasing suicide rates in the general population.I can't argue with the ivy leaguers, but personally I think that adolescence is such a tumultuous period of personal development, that it is the most difficult time to distinquish depression from passionate disposition.
>
> "We must therefore wonder if the FDA's actions and the subsequent decrease in access to these antidepressants have caused an increase in youth suicide."Yup, we must, we must, we must;
>
> Warning Labels May Scare Doctors, Parents
>
> Some doctors say the additional black box warnings may have led medical professionals to be less confident in prescribing antidepressants.
>
> "In the state of Michigan, we have found that our colleagues in pediatrics have become increasingly uncomfortable with the prescription of SSRIs following the institution of the black box warning," said Dr. Sheila Marcus of the section of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Michigan Hospitals.
>
> "The past history of such FDA warnings has revealed that they create barriers to care and unnecessarily frighten families away from seeking treatment," Nemeroff said.Well, if I am bipolar, I can tell you that my childhood and adolescence reads like a textbook survival course, traversing the gamut of emotions from alpha to omega. But, I did not get hit with clinical depression until my late 20s. Hmmmm....
As I said, I think that agitating ADs like SSRIs when given to anyone at any age, may prevent an already suicidal disposition, by giving the drugs in conjunction with benzos, and within a clinical setting-- a much more demanding and expensive idea than just prescribing the drug like aspirin, and giving cab fare.
Squiggles
poster:Squiggles
thread:730954
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070207/msgs/732174.html