A study published in the May edition of the American Journal of Psychiatry claims a correlation between taking some of the commonly prescribed antidepressants and higher rates of committing suicide amongst the elder section of population, sometimes as high as five times.
David Juurlink who is the author of the research and a scientist at the Toronto-based Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences says that he authored this study to differentiate between the role played by depression and the adverse effect of the prescription. He believes that this study definitely indicates a higher suicidal tendency amongst patients taking the drugs.
The antidepressants also known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or SSRIs and include some of the very common drugs like Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft are already prone to very stringent warnings from drug companies various lawsuits over having a causal relation to suicides.
The study which examined 1.2 million seniors (aged 65+) over a period of 9 years included over 1300 suicide cases. It was found that around 65% of those who had committed suicide had not received any treatment. Over the full duration of the study 73 patients consuming SSRIs committed suicide. There were 349 cases where the elder who committed suicide was taking some other kind of antidepressant.
The risk of suicide multiplies five folds during the first month of medicating SSRIs as compared to that of medication by other traditional depressants like Elavil.By examining the prescription data of the patient from 1992 to 2000 the study found out that one out of every 3300 seniors who started the prescription took their life within one month. In the next 30 days the chances of committing suicide are double and after that both the groups show same tendency of ending their lives.
Thus it is required that doctors and family members should closely monitor the patients who start taking SSRIs for the first 60 days.
Though the numbers might appear small but when viewed in context they become alarming. It is estimated that about 1 million in Canada suffer from depression; the prescription of SSRIs has shown an increase of 100% in last 5 years. Around 17.5 million prescriptions were filled last year itself.
SSRI prescription is also associated with relatively more violent ways of ending life which includes use of weapons, jumping from a tall structure and hanging oneself. Although without any proof, juurlink suggests that some patients might also be genetically inclined to experience negative effects of SSRIs.
Yet another Canadian study published in the same journal claims that alternative treatments like bright artificial light are as capable as SSRIs in curing the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a winter depression variant.
Does this mean that seniors should stop taking SSRIs?
Juurlink denies that but advocates that those taking medication should keep an eye for signs of a surge in suicidal thoughts in the first 60 days and should contact their doctor if they become more focused on committing suicide.
