Suicidal behaviour in youths with depression treated with new-generation antidepressants: meta-analysis.
BACKGROUND
Concern exists that antidepressants can cause suicidality in youths with depression.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the pooled risk of self-harm and suicidal behaviour from randomised trials of newer antidepressants.


METHODS
A meta-analysis was carried out to calculate odds ratios for the combined data.


RESULTS
Self-harm or suicide-related events occurred in 71 of 1487 (4.8%) of depressed youths treated with antidepressants v. 38 of 1254 (3.0%) of those given placebo (fixed effects odds ratio 1.70, 95% CI 1.13-2.54, P=0.01). There was a trend for individual suicidal thoughts, attempts and self-harm to occur more often in youths taking antidepressants than in those given placebo, but none of these differences was statistically significant.


CONCLUSIONS
Antidepressants may cause a small short-term risk of self-harm or suicidal events in children and adolescents with major depressive disorder.
Dubicka
Bernadka
B
University Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury, Manchester M27 4HA, UK. Bernadka.Dubicka@manchester.ac.uk
Hadley
Sarah
S
Roberts
Christopher
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000139:chemically induced*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors