Antidepressants Linked to Suicide Risk in Older Adults

Compared with older antidepressant medications, SSRIs appear to be associated with an increased suicide risk in the first month of treatment among older patients, a study in the American Journal of Psychiatry indicates. The study's lead researchers, David Juurlink of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Toronto, examined coroner's data, prescriptions, billing claims and hospitalizations, and found that SSRIs were associated with “a nearly fivefold increased risk of completed suicide,” as well as suicide of a more violent nature. (Reuters (http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2006-06-14T172850Z_01_COL462616_RTRUKOC_0_US-ANTIDEPRESSANTS-ELDERLY.xml), 6/15/06)