Citation

Reeves RR, Ladner ME. South. Med. J. 2009; 102(7): 713-718.

Affiliation

Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, Mental Health Service, GV (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center, University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Jackson, MS 39216, USA. roy.reeves@va.gov

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Southern Medical Association)

DOI

10.1097/SMJ.0b013e3181a918bd

PMID

19488000

Abstract

The risk of suicidal behavior associated with antidepressant treatment is an issue of debate and concern. The US FDA has required that antidepressants carry a black box warning that there may be a risk of suicidal ideations in depressed pediatric patients treated with these medications, and recently extended the warning to include individuals up age 24. However studies of antidepressant-induced suicidality in adults have yielded contradictory findings and conclusions. This article discusses investigations of this poorly understood phenomenon and the clinical implications of research findings and FDA warnings for clinicians treating adults with depression. Although antidepressant-induced suicidality apparently occurs only rarely, close monitoring and follow up care after the initiation of a new antidepressant is indicated.

Language: en