Fewer kids on SSRI antidepressants

Within 2 years after the October 2003 FDA public health advisory about the risk of suicide in children taking a type of antidepressant called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), significant reductions in rates of diagnosis and antidepressant treatment of childhood depression occurred, researchers report.

"Antidepressant use was expected to decline, consistent with effects on other drugs after warnings are issued," Dr. Anne M. Libby of University of Colorado Health Science Center at Denver told Reuters Health.

However, "we were most surprised at the diagnosing rate decline, reversing a national trend as evidence of a decade of work to educate and promote depression treatment in primary care," she added.

"Our concern is the lack of treatment for a disorder that is quite serious in childhood, as depression is a large and significant risk factor for suicide," Libby added.

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