Child Suicides On Rise

(AP)  New government figures show a surprising increase in youth suicides after a decade of decline, and some mental health experts think a drop in use of antidepressant drugs may be to blame.

The suicide rate climbed 18 percent from 2003 to 2004 for Americans under age 20, from 1,737 deaths to 1,985. Most suicides occurred in older teens, according to the data — the most current to date from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

By contrast, the suicide rate among 15- to 19-year-olds fell in previous years, from about 11 per 100,000 in 1990 to 7.3 per 100,000 in 2003.

Suicides were the only cause of death that increased for children through age 19 from 2003-04, according to a CDC report released Monday.

"This is very disturbing news," said Dr. David Fassler, a University of Vermont psychiatry professor.

He noted that the increase coincided with regulatory action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that led to a black box warning on prescription packages cautioning that antidepressants could cause suicidal behavior in children.

Fassler testified at FDA hearings on antidepressants during 2003 and 2004 and urged caution about implementing black box warnings. The agency ordered the warnings in October 2004 and they began to appear on drug labels about six months later.

Psychologist David Shern, president of Mental Health America, called the new data "a disturbing reversal of progress."

Other research has linked certain antidepressants with decreasing suicide rates, Shern said, adding, "We must therefore wonder if the FDA's actions and the subsequent decrease in access to these antidepressants in fact have caused an increase in youth suicide."

The advocacy group receives funding from makers of antidepressants, government agencies and private donations.

The suicide data are in a report on vital statistics published in February's Pediatrics.

Antidepressant use among children decreased during the same time period. Data from Verispan show 3 million antidepressant prescriptions were written for kids through age 12 in 2004, down 6.8 percent from 2003. Among 13- to 19-year-olds, the number dropped less than 1 percent to 8.11 million in 2004. Steeper declines in both age groups occurred in 2005, according to the prescription tracking firm.

The suicide data are preliminary and don't show whether suicides might have been concentrated in one region or among one gender or ethnic group, said the CDC's Dr. Alexander Crosby.

"It's something that we want to look a little bit closer into," Crosby said. "It's probably too early to say" if declining use of antidepressants had anything to do with it, he said,

The CDC is expected to issue a more thorough report on the data in a month or two.

The data are concerning, but it's too soon to know if they're anything more than a statistical blip, said Dr. John March, a Duke University psychiatry professor. He led landmark National Institute of Mental Health research linking antidepressant use with an increased risk for suicidal behavior, but also showing that getting psychotherapy at the same time canceled out that risk.

Some mental health experts believe suicide prevention programs and effective use of treatment including drugs and therapy contributed to the decline in suicides that occurred in the 1990s.

Funding cuts for school-based suicide prevention programs might have contributed to the apparent rise noted in the new CDC report, said Emory University psychologist Nadine Kaslow. But the rise might not indicate a nationwide trend and needs to be investigated, she said.

"It's definitely concerning" but will need to be followed to see whether increases occurred in subsequent years, Kaslow said.

[forbeth]

Actually many people being given these drugs are not depressed to begin with. My sister was given a prescription for paxil, simply for having trouble sleeping. One week later she died from an SSRI induced suicide. Alot of the time the people who are given an SSRI by their GP have no depression, they are not monitored during the first few weeks, and many people have lost their lives. This is the truth. This is your news story! Get the facts from some besides a doctor on pharm. companies payroll, talking about a study the pharm. company paid for! WAKE UP!

[susanhelit]

Just because people testifying about suicides being due to SSRIs had no financial or other hidden motive, doesn't make them right. It's entirely possible that they were mistaken, that their child would have suicided in any case, rather than that the SSRI caused the suicide.

It's tricky to figure out - SSRIs are only given to kids who already have a problem, so kids who are already at risk. If they suicide, does it mean the SSRI pushed them over the edge, or did it simply not do quite enough to pull them back from the edge?

The science is still out here, but if these stats show an increase in suicides that is real, it leads to the always fun question of what to do when a drug can both save and condemn you. Count the suicides with and without, and see which number is less - it's all we can do, but people have a hard time accepting this type of hard choice.

[forbeth]

It is disturbing to see that not only are the doctors making these claims being paid off by the drug companies, but CBS is on the pay roll. This is no more than a paid advertisement by pharmaceutical companies. The warning labels are saving lives, the money these companies may lose is motivating their PR teams, and the media is eating it up with a spoon. SSRI's are extremly dangerous. At best they make you numb enough that you think your life has improved, at worst they kill you. The people who lost loved ones to SSRI induced suicides,and stood bravely before an FDA advisory commitee did not have any hidden motives, they want to stop this from happening to another child! People are being prescribed these drugs for anything from pms to insomnia, etc. Doctors are constantly told to push these drugs off label. The drug companies have one motive, THE BOTTOM LINE! If CBS wants an actual news story they might want to listen to the people with out the hidden agenda. The next generation of hopefully drug free children deserve better.

[gossimer]

What in God's name is our country coming to? Our young people today have little hope for their future for so many reasons! First, our country is being systematically destroyed from within, by our OWN government! Any thought of higher education is being destroyed by the constant increase in its cost, higher tuition, higher interest rates on educational loans, fewer opportunities, except for the military both before and after college, and our youth are literally being blackmailed into joining the military under the guise of financial assistance FOR college! When in the fine print of the papers they sign, they cannot even go to college so long as they are considered "active duty", which, if I'm not mistaken, is eight years, with the ever present possibility of being recalled even AFTER those eight years! WHERE is the peace of mind for a stable and positive future in this? There is NONE!

Second, is the actions of the "Religious 'WRONG'" condemning nearly EVERYONE these days! 10%, at least, of these young people ARE GLBT, just as they are born to be! However, what hope is there for a future of love and support for them, when our very society condemns them outright? NONE! Many feel lost, hurt, and betrayed, with little hope or optimism for their futures!

[legendary240]

When an innocent young life grows up in this cauldron of chaos we call society, what can we expect when there is little in the way of decency that is upheld. We value violence over love and greed over honor. As a seedling stretches upward towards the light in order to grow, so do children. For many of them there is not enough light offered to them.

[bvckvs-2009]

Anti-Depressants are not to blame. This is a social problem, not a medical one.

American kids have been taught to have a reckless disregard for the value of human life - even their own. The suicide trend is simply a reflection of that ethic.

And considering how the NeoChristians, NeoCons and other Republicans have mortgaged their future - they really don't have much hope for a better life.

[anopinion1]

why the heck is a teenager put on antidepresants, my god man? What is this teaching them, seriously? The kids have probably broken up with their very first boyfriend or girlfriend and at the first sight of sadness stupid parents are rushing them into some quack for some drugs to fix the problem.(instead of actually sitting them down and talking with the damm kids like they havent done in years)
So from then on out any time they stub their toe keep going back for more drugs.

[rray52]

Where is CBS trying to go in this article?

The headline links the increase in suicides to the warning on antidepressants (the question mark is a nice disclaimer).
The featured quote, in bold type, is from the President of a advocacy group, as stated in the article, funded by antidepressants manufactures.
After the opening Stats. Are quotes from experts that actively opposed the warning requirement.
Further into the article are the stats. for antidepressant use, the group with the largest increase in suicide had a less than 1% decrease in antidepressant use.
Continuing, we find that the CDC numbers are preliminary, not broken down yet by location, gender, ect.
Finally at the end are several quotes, to paraphrase: we need more research and a brake down of the numbers to find what%u2019s the root cause.

I don%u2019t have strong opinion one way or the other on warning labeling, but I think CBS does.