"Black box" warnings on labels of certain antidepressants about possible increased suicide risk had no effect on the amounts of the medications prescribed in North America.
A study based on a time-series analysis of new antidepressant prescriptions in Ontario, Canada from April 1998-March 2005 found that a series of warnings about increased suicide risk linked to the medication had little effect on prescribing trends. Researchers examined monthly prescription rates for patients younger than 20, ages 21-64 and 66 and older. They found that the United Kingdom Committee on Safety of Medicines advisory against prescribing the drug paroxetine to patients younger than 20 resulted in significant and persistent reductions in prescriptions for younger patients but not for the other two age groups. A series of advisories, including two published warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, about increased suicide risk associated with antidepressants did not change prescription rates.
The study's authors said, "After the UK warning, physicians may have prescribed an alternate antidepressant in patients who otherwise might have received paroxetine. Conversely, more general warnings about multiple antidepressants may have left physicians with no acceptable therapeutic options, causing them to disregard the warning." [From: "The Effect of Antidepressant Warnings on Prescribing Trends in Ontario, Canada" To set up an interview with study lead author Dr. Paul Kurdyak, contact Julie Dowdie, Media Relations Officer at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Science (ICES), at (416) 480-4780]
The American Journal of Public Health is the monthly journal of the American Public Health Association (APHA), the oldest organization of public health professionals in the world. APHA is a leading publisher of books and periodicals promoting sound scientific standards, action programs and public policy to enhance health. More information is available at http://www.apha.org.
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