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Reportedly, depression, a very serious psychiatric disorder of mood
and one of the most common causes of suicide, afflicts all societies and
cultures of the world. People in all age bands including children and
adolescents are the victims of this devastating disorder. Like adults and
elderly, teenagers with depression do manifest suicidal ideations.
This is highly controversial issue whether or not SSRIs increase
suicidal tendencies among pediatric population suffering from depression.
In this context, one must ask a few very important questions, do all
children with depression respond to one of the SSRIs? Or alternatively,
are SSRIs effective in alleviating depression among all children and
adolescents? Do SSRIs help teenagers with depression in committing suicide
[or homicide]?
Clinical wisdom suggests that many patients including children and
adolescents with depression communicate to the attending psychiatrists
that when these medications including SSRIs also do not help in improving
depression and rather worsen the condition attributed mainly to adverse
effects, they say that it is better to die rather than to live horrifying
life. Thus, unimproved depression, financial burden due to expansive
SSRIs, added intolerable adverse effects and worsening life situations
leave the patients in a vacuum of meaningless life and hence resort to
suicide.
Notably, RCTs involving antidepressants including SSRIs and their
results and likewise metanalytic reviews will never match the individual
patients' real life situations. Their findings are not applicable to
individual patients with depression and suicide. Their results are
concocted and doubtful.
Finally, SSRIs are not effective treatment of depression revealed
among teenagers and there is a strong need to develop more effective ways
including drugs and psychotherapies for the management of depression among
children. Suicidal ideation is an integral part of depression and
ineffective SSRIs leave the patients vulnerable to act on these ideations
and hence increase in suicidality. Increase in suicidality should not
detract the public attention primarily from the fact that SSRIs are not
suitable drugs for teenagers with depression.
Reference:
Janice Hopkins Tanne. FDA again reviews antidepressants
BMJ 2004; 329: 475
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests:
No competing interests
27 August 2004
Dr. Naseem A. Qureshi MD, IMAPA, LMIPS
Director, CME&R
POBox.2292, Buraidah Ment. Halth. Hosp., Saudi Arabia.
Suicide, SSRIs and Depression: Children and Adolescents.
Sir:
Reportedly, depression, a very serious psychiatric disorder of mood
and one of the most common causes of suicide, afflicts all societies and
cultures of the world. People in all age bands including children and
adolescents are the victims of this devastating disorder. Like adults and
elderly, teenagers with depression do manifest suicidal ideations.
This is highly controversial issue whether or not SSRIs increase
suicidal tendencies among pediatric population suffering from depression.
In this context, one must ask a few very important questions, do all
children with depression respond to one of the SSRIs? Or alternatively,
are SSRIs effective in alleviating depression among all children and
adolescents? Do SSRIs help teenagers with depression in committing suicide
[or homicide]?
Clinical wisdom suggests that many patients including children and
adolescents with depression communicate to the attending psychiatrists
that when these medications including SSRIs also do not help in improving
depression and rather worsen the condition attributed mainly to adverse
effects, they say that it is better to die rather than to live horrifying
life. Thus, unimproved depression, financial burden due to expansive
SSRIs, added intolerable adverse effects and worsening life situations
leave the patients in a vacuum of meaningless life and hence resort to
suicide.
Notably, RCTs involving antidepressants including SSRIs and their
results and likewise metanalytic reviews will never match the individual
patients' real life situations. Their findings are not applicable to
individual patients with depression and suicide. Their results are
concocted and doubtful.
Finally, SSRIs are not effective treatment of depression revealed
among teenagers and there is a strong need to develop more effective ways
including drugs and psychotherapies for the management of depression among
children. Suicidal ideation is an integral part of depression and
ineffective SSRIs leave the patients vulnerable to act on these ideations
and hence increase in suicidality. Increase in suicidality should not
detract the public attention primarily from the fact that SSRIs are not
suitable drugs for teenagers with depression.
Reference:
Janice Hopkins Tanne. FDA again reviews antidepressants
BMJ 2004; 329: 475
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests