We really have to wonder if some of the suicides are linked to the medication they are given.
According to a Norwegian study, adults taking the antidepressant drug paroxetine are at a higher risk of attempting to commit suicide than those not taking medication.
In this new analysis, of previous clinical data on paroxetine use, the antidepressant is added to the list of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) that have been shown to increase suicidal tendencies in adult patients with depression.
In their study Ivar Aursnes and colleagues from the University of Oslo, Norway, re-examined data from 16 selected paroxetine trials, in which patients diagnosed with depression had been randomly given either paroxetine or a placebo drug.
Neither the participants nor the researchers conducting the initial studies knew what the participants had been given.
Aursnes and his team did a statistical analysis of the results of these studies, in order to evaluate the incidence of suicide attempts in both groups.
Their work took into account the amount of time the participants had been exposed to paroxetine, and their results discovered that there were seven suicide attempts in the group on paroxetine, but only one among the patients on the placebo.
Although it is recognised that Paroxetine can increase suicidal attempt rates in children and teenagers, previous studies have failed to reach a conclusion regarding the effects of the drug on suicide attempt rates in adult patients.
Way back in February this year, David Gunnell of Bristol University and colleagues, warned doctors about an increased risk of suicidal behaviour in patients treated with SSRIs.
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Paroxetine (Paxil, Seroxat) is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant. It was released in 1992 by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. In 2006 it was the fifth-most prescribed antidepressant in the United States retail market, with more than 19.7 million prescriptions.[1] The prescription of this drug is controversial because of side effects such as suicidal ideation and withdrawal syndrome which have resulted in legal proceedings against the manufacturer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paroxetine
