Risk of suicidal behaviour in adults taking antidepressants

Antidepressant drugs currently carry warnings of the possibility of increased suicidal ideation and behaviour during treatment, especially in younger patients. In the linked meta-analysis (doi:10.1136/bmj.b2880), Stone and colleagues report on the possible link between the risk of suicide and antidepressants using data on individual patients from placebo controlled trials.1 This analysis of 372 placebo controlled antidepressant trials and nearly 100 000 patients found that the association between antidepressant drugs and the incidence of reported suicidal behaviour is strongly related to age. The risk was raised in people under 25, not affected in those aged 25-64, and reduced in those aged 65 and older. The analysis also found differences in risk between drugs.

This analysis is not new—it was published fully on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website more than two years ago.2 It was widely covered at the time in the international medical press and led to warnings being included on datasheets.3 4 5 6 Because the …