Despite Warnings, Antidepressants Rarely Trigger Suicidal Thoughts

AUTHOR: Catherine Donaldson-Evans

PUBLICATION NAME: Aol Health

DATE OF PUBLICATION: September 3, 2010

SUMMARY: People on antidepressants are more likely to have suicidal thoughts? Rarely. Researchers in Germany analyzed more than 140,000 European psychiatric patients who were all taking some sort of medicine for depression. Studies found that only a small percentage of these patients were suicidal, numerically speaking, out of 142,090 about 33 patients had thoughts of committing suicide and eighteen tried killing themselves (Journal of Clinical Psychiatry). “In clinical practice, seeing a patient on antidepressants who has thoughts of suicide is extremely rare” said psychiatric Dr. Daniel Carlat. In 2005 about 10 percent of Americans were taking medication for depression. Just like other studies, this study has problems: doctors used reports from the patients themselves about whether they felt suicidal, physicians didn’t watch the patients around the clock, and some patients were on antidepressants such as SSRI and others on benzodiazepines or other tranquilizers. This research counters existing theories that connect antidepressants to suicide. A Welsh psychiatric Dr. David Healy said, “There is no doubt that such medicine [antidepressants] can trigger suicidal feelings”. The issue on whether drugs or medicine can trigger suicidal feelings is controversial and affects all of us because since 1996 the number of users has doubled in 2005 (about 27 million people taking prescription drugs).

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ARTICLE: http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/09/03/despite-warnings-antidepressants-rarely-trigger-suicidal-thoughts/

SUBMITTED BY: Lovedeep Uppal