Changes in antidepressant use by young people and suicidal behavior after FDA warnings and media coverage: quasi-experimental study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To investigate if the widely publicized warnings in 2003 from the US Food and Drug Administration about a possible increased risk of suicidality with antidepressant use in young people were associated with changes in antidepressant use, suicide attempts, and completed suicides among young people.

Design

Quasi-experimental study assessing changes in outcomes after the warnings, controlling for pre-existing trends.

Setting

Automated healthcare claims data (2000-10) derived from the virtual data warehouse of 11 health plans in the US Mental Health Research Network.

Participants

Study cohorts included adolescents (around 1.1 million), young adults (around 1.4 million), and adults (around 5 million).

Main outcome measures

Rates of antidepressant dis

SUBMITTER: Lu CY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4062705 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature