PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Suicide risk doesn't differ in children taking 2 types of commonly prescribed antidepressants

2014-01-06
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Craig Boerner
craig.boerner@vanderbilt.edu
615-322-4747
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Suicide risk doesn't differ in children taking 2 types of commonly prescribed antidepressants A Vanderbilt University Medical Center study released today shows there is no evidence that the risk of suicide differs with two commonly prescribed antidepressants prescribed to children and adolescents.

The population-based study, published today in the journal Pediatrics, tracked children and adolescents who recently began taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).

For the past decade parents and health care professionals have worried that children and adolescents treated with antidepressant medications might be at increased risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior.

In 2004 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicine Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency issued public warnings about the increased risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior in children and adolescents treated with certain antidepressant medications, and required that a boxed "black box" warning be added to package inserts for antidepressants.

Because antidepressants differ in their characteristics, including effects on neurotransmitters, it has also been believed that the risk of suicidal behavior for individual medications might differ.

"It is important to study this group of children and adolescents because many children are treated with these medications in the U.S. each year and we need to understand the differential risks for suicide attempts and completed suicides," said study author William Cooper, M.D., MPH, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Pediatrics and professor of Health Policy.

SSRIs, like fluoxetine, are the most widely used antidepressants/antianxiety drugs, slowing down the rate at which serotonin, an important signaling molecule in the brain, is broken down. An SNRI, like sertraline, is a newer type of antidepressant that does the same thing for another important chemical, noradrenaline, as well as serotonin.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is common in children and adolescents and has significant negative impacts on children's development, functioning and risk for suicide, Cooper said. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds and the sixth leading cause of death for 5-14 year olds.

The Vanderbilt study reviewed the medical records of 36,842 children 6 to 18 years old enrolled in Medicaid between 1995 and 2006 who were new users of one of the antidepressant medications of interest. Of those studied 415 had a medically treated suicide attempt, including four who completed suicide.

Of those included in the study, 47.4 percent had a diagnosis of MDD and one-fourth had a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Other common psychiatric conditions among the cohort members included conduct disorder and anxiety.

The study was not designed to compare the risk for suicide attempts for antidepressant users compared with non-users.

"These findings provide important information about the relative risks of the more recently approved antidepressants to help guide decision making by patients, their families and their providers," Cooper said. "But more research is needed to understand other safety aspects of medications used to treat children so that families and providers can make informed decisions."

### Other study authors included: Todd Callahan, M.D., MPH, Ayumi Shintani, Ph.D., Catherine Fuchs, M.D., Judith Dudley, Amy Graves, MPH, and Wayne Ray, Ph.D., of Vanderbilt, and Richard Shelton, M.D., formerly with VUMC, now with the University of Alabama Birmingham.

Funding for the study was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (Grant MH 079903).


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Laying money on the line leads to healthier food choices over time

2014-01-06
Laying money on the line leads to healthier food choices over time People are more likely to choose healthy options at the grocery store if they use the risk of losing their monthly healthy food discount as a motivational tool, according ...

MRSA infection rates drop in Veterans Affairs long-term care facilities

2014-01-06
MRSA infection rates drop in Veterans Affairs long-term care facilities Washington, DC, January 6, 2014 – Four years after implementing a national initiative to reduce methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) rates in Veterans Affairs (VA) long-term care facilities, ...

Stimulating brain cells stops binge drinking, animal study finds

2014-01-06
Stimulating brain cells stops binge drinking, animal study finds Results suggest it may be possible to use gene therapy in the brain to treat substance abuse, neurological diseases and mental illnesses BUFFALO, N.Y. – Researchers at the University at Buffalo have ...

US Army identifies 6 critical research targets for improving outcomes in traumatic brain injury

2014-01-06
US Army identifies 6 critical research targets for improving outcomes in traumatic brain injury New Rochelle, NY, January 6, 2014—The U.S. Department of Defense funds more than 500 neurotrauma research projects totaling over $700 million. ...

Establishing guides for molecular counting using fluorescent proteins

2014-01-06
Establishing guides for molecular counting using fluorescent proteins The study recently published in Nature Methods has been able to determine the photoactivation efficiency of fluorescent proteins, an important parameter that has so far ...

New technique targets specific areas of cancer cells with different drugs

2014-01-06
New technique targets specific areas of cancer cells with different drugs Researchers have developed a technique for creating nanoparticles that carry two different cancer-killing drugs into the body and deliver those drugs to separate parts of the cancer ...

ALMA spots supernova dust factory

2014-01-06
ALMA spots supernova dust factory Striking new observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope capture, for the first time, the remains of a recent supernova brimming with freshly formed dust. If enough of this dust makes the perilous transition into ...

BIDMC researcher looks at race and bariatric surgery

2014-01-06
BIDMC researcher looks at race and bariatric surgery Quality of life considerations are key when patients consider surgery BOSTON – While weight loss surgery offers one of the best opportunities to improve health and reduce obesity related illnesses, ...

Tiny proteins have outsized influence on nerve health

2014-01-06
Tiny proteins have outsized influence on nerve health And could make tarantula bites less painful Mutations in small proteins that help convey electrical signals throughout the body may have a surprisingly large effect on health, according to results of a new Johns ...

Miriam Hospital study shows keys to successful long-term weight loss maintenance

2014-01-06
Miriam Hospital study shows keys to successful long-term weight loss maintenance Study followed weight loss participants for a 10-year period (PROVIDENCE, R.I.) -- Researchers from The Miriam Hospital have published one of the first studies of its kind to follow weight loss maintenance for individuals ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

​​​​​​​The Lancet: Plastic pollution is an underrecognised threat to health, experts warn as they launch a project to track plastics’ health impacts and monitor progress

The Lancet Countdown on Health and Plastics to track impact of plastic production and pollution on human health

Announcing The Lancet Countdown on Health and Plastics

Study unexpectedly finds living in rural, rather than urban environments in first five years of life could be a risk factor for developing type 1 diabetes

Editorial urges deeper focus on heart-lung interactions in pulmonary vascular disease

Five University of Tennessee faculty receive Fulbright Awards

5 advances to protect water sources, availability

OU Scholar awarded Fulbright for Soviet cinema research

Brain might become target of new type 1 diabetes treatments

‘Shore Wars:’ New research aims to resolve coastal conflict between oysters and mangroves, aiding restoration efforts

Why do symptoms linger in some people after an infection? A conversation on post-acute infection syndromes

Study reveals hidden drivers of asthma flare-ups in children

Physicists decode mysterious membrane behavior

New insights about brain receptor may pave way for next-gen mental health drugs

Melanoma ‘sat-nav’ discovery could help curb metastasis

When immune commanders misfire: new insights into rheumatoid arthritis inflammation

SFU researchers develop a new tool that brings blender-like lighting control to any photograph

Pups in tow, Yellowstone-area wolves trek long distances to stay near prey

AI breakthrough unlocks 'new' materials to replace lithium-ion batteries

Making molecules make sense: A regional explanation method reveals structure–property relationships

Partisan hostility, not just policy, drives U.S. protests

The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Ahead-of-Print Tip Sheet: August 1, 2025

Young human blood serum factors show potential to rejuvenate skin through bone marrow

Large language models reshape the future of task planning

Narrower coverage of MS drugs tied to higher relapse risk

Researchers harness AI-powered protein design to enhance T-cell based immunotherapies

Smartphone engagement during school hours among US youths

Online reviews of health care facilities

MS may begin far earlier than previously thought

New AI tool learns to read medical images with far less data

[Press-News.org] Suicide risk doesn't differ in children taking 2 types of commonly prescribed antidepressants