FDA Pushes to Broaden Warnings On Anti-Depressants

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The FDA is urging that a new warning be placed on the labels of all anti-depressants warning of an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior. The current warning label warns of a increase of suicidal thoughts and behavior in children 18 and younger, but the FDA says that the warning should be expanded to also include young adults from 18-24 years old.

The FDA has said that the increase of suicidal thoughts and behavior is limited only to those 24 years and younger. Those taking the ant-depressants 65 and older actually show a decreased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior.

Dr. Steven Galson, the FDA’s drugs chief said, “Antidepressant medications benefit many patients, but it is important that doctors and patients are aware of the risks.”

NBC chief science correspondent Robert Bazell explained that many psychiatrists believe that the first 2 weeks after a young adult begins taking the medication are the most critical.

"What this warning says is to pay close attention to [young] people when they are starting on the medication, when there is a slight risk of suicide. They should be followed much more closely than they need to be later on," he explained.

Although it is good that the FDA has required the label change, some believe that the warnings have been long overdue. According to MSNBC, “last month, a comprehensive analysis of antidepressants for children and teenagers found the benefits of treatment trump the small risk of increasing suicidal thoughts and behaviors in some patients. The Journal of the American Medical Association study also found that risk is lower than what the FDA identified in 2004, the year the agency warned the public about the risks of the drugs in children.”

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