Warnings -- COLUMNS-Drugs & Supplements -- January 2004

UK Health Authorities to Conduct Study on Antidepressant-Suicide Link

LONDON - Britain's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recently announced that it was initiating a study aimed at investigating the risk of suicide in patients taking antidepressants.

According to the agency's Jan. 6 statement, the study would estimate the risk of suicide, suicidal thoughts, non-fatal overdose, and self-laceration in patients taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft, and older antidepressants known as tricyclic antidepressants (TCA).

The study's protocol stated that that relative risk of suicide will be calculated for SSRI and TCA therapy …