Antidepressants Can Actually Increase Suicide Risk Among Under-18s, Report Suggests

Depressed children should always be offered counselling before being prescribed antidepressants, an expert has said, after a study was published suggesting certain drugs can double the suicide risk for under-18s. Researchers in Denmark said that children and adolescents have a doubled risk of aggression and suicide when taking selective serotonin and serotonin-norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitor drugs to combat depression, The Press Association reports. The researchers found no significant link between antidepressants and suicide and aggression among adults - but in children and adolescents the risk doubled.

Professor Shirley Reynolds, professor of evidence-based psychological therapies at the University of Reading said the results drew attention to alternative ways to treat depression, such as exercise. The risks discovered are associated with the drug paroxetine, which is not prescribed for children and adolescents in the UK, Prof Reynolds, said, urging British parents to "not panic". She added: "All young people should be offered an evidence-based psychological treatment immediately. However, antidepressants should be available when a young person does not respond to psychological treatment or does not want psychological treatment.


http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2016/01/28/antidepressants-suicide-risk_n_9096622.html?utm_hp_ref=uk