The increased use of antidepressants has contributed to the worldwide reduction in suicide rates

Abstract

Numerous ecological studies have shown an inverse association between antidepressant use and suicide rates and a smaller number of individual-based studies have shown an association between current antidepressant use and reduced suicide risk. Such evidence is often cited in support of the notion that antidepressants prevent suicide. However, more recently, the premises underlying this proposition, namely that suicide is caused by depression and that antidepressants relieve depression, have been challenged and the potential harm caused by antidepressants has been highlighted. In this article, Goran Isacsson and Charles Rich debate with Jon Jureidini and Melissa Raven the motion that the increased use of antidepressants has contributed to the worldwide reduction in suicide rates.

Pharmacogenomic predictors of citalopram treatment outcome in major depressive disorder

“…So in our study, remitters appear to have an advantage in that TGF β levels are likely to be at a higher, and possibly advantageous, level resulting in a more rapid increase of TGF β following treatment. This hypothesis is consistent with recent fi ndings by our group of increased methylation in the promoter of TGF β 2 in the hippocampus of suicides as compared to psychiatrically normal sudden-death controls (Labont é B et al, unpublished results) since suicide is an unfortunate consequence of both MDD and treatment non-response (Isacsson et al 2010).…”

An adaptationist perspective on the etiology of depression

“…For instance, some antidepressants may be weakly carcinogenic (Cosgrove et al, 2011) or cause osteoporosis (Verdel et al, 2010). Antidepressants have also been associated with an increased acute risk of suicide in younger patients while they may decrease the risk of suicide in older patients or with longer-term use (Ghaemi et al, 2013;Isacsson et al, 2010;Leon et al, 2011;Valenstein et al, 2009). Also, all major classes of antidepressants have been associated with unpleasant (and sometimes dangerous) symptoms when they are discontinued abruptly (Haddad, 2001;Lader, 2007).…”

Suicide Risk After Nonfatal Self-Harm

“…During the same time interval, from the 1980s to the present, significant decreases in the suicide rates of the general population have been recognized in several countries, possibly associated with the more frequent use of antidepressants. 12 Therefore, large studies of recent cohorts are needed so that we may accurately relate suicide risk to psychiatric diagnosis and the different methods of self-harm.…”