Antidepressant linked to higher rate of suicide attempts

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A study shows that adults on paroxetine seem to have a higher risk of attempting suicide than those taking a placebo.
Paroxetine is one of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) used to treat depression. Researchers at the University of Oslo, Norway, now reveal that it may actually increase the risk of a suicide attempt.

They reviewed a group of 16 trials, where patients took either paroxetine or placebo. There were seven suicide attempts among those on paroxetine and one among those on placebo. In previous work, paroxetine has been found to increase suicide attempts in children and adolescents, but the situation has been unclear in adults. This adds to previous claims that SSRIs can increase the risk of suicide in depressed people. Clearly, those with depression are already prone to suicidal thoughts and attempts - anything that increases this risk needs to be given with caution.

Source
BMC Medicine 21st August 2005

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