Intended for healthcare professionals

Letters Antidepressant use and FDA warnings

Study of study of changes in antidepressant use after FDA warnings is not reliable

BMJ 2014; 349 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g5623 (Published 09 October 2014) Cite this as: BMJ 2014;349:g5623
  1. Peter C Gøtzsche, professor1
  1. 1Nordic Cochrane Centre, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
  1. pcg{at}cochrane.dk

Lu and colleagues reported that suicide attempts in young people increased after the Food and Drug Administration warned that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can increase suicidal behaviour.1 This makes no sense. The FDA’s meta-analysis of 100 000 patients in placebo controlled randomised trials found that antidepressants increase suicidal behaviour up to about age 40 years,2 and that the risk …

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