Suicide rates up 25% in 2 yrs for children and adolescents!
Wed, 2008-04-09 07:41
#1
Suicide rates up 25% in 2 yrs for children and adolescents!
Wed, 2008-04-09 07:41
#2
Drug warning linked to less help, more suicides
CTV.ca News Staff
A new study has found that fewer young people received treatment for depression and suicides rose among children and adolescents following a Health Canada warning about the use of antidepressants.
Researchers from the University of Manitoba analyzed data on prescription and health care use by almost 3 million children, adolescents and young adults. They looked specifically at the nine years before the warnings were issued in 2004 and the two years after.
The researchers found that after the warnings were issued:
* prescriptions of antidepressants decreased by 14 per cent among children and adolescents and 10 per cent among young adults.
* there was a 10 per cent decrease in doctor visits for depression among children, teens and young adults.
* the suicide rate among children and adolescents increased by 25 per cent (though researchers couldn't say whether the spike was related to the warnings or other factors). (...)
[url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080407/suicide_stu... help, more suicides[/url]
[ 09 April 2008: Message edited by: martin dufresne ]
Wed, 2008-04-09 07:53
#3
well, my father worked in a suicide-prevention field for years, and always raged against the media for short-term statistics which = headlines
in any statistical series (esp. sociological) there are fluctuations over the years:
are these fluctuations temporary? permanent? due to new circumstances?
2 years usually says nothing about long-term trends
Wed, 2008-04-09 08:03
#4
I have also seen statistics hyped out of proportion to what they did reveal, especially in the suicide prevention field which antifeminists constantly exploit to describe adult men as at their wit's end.
But if you look up the actual research involved here, it seem to have been conducted over a huge number of cases and the 2-year upturn in youth suicides does constitute a dramatic change, in view of what had been a long-standing decline in suicide numbers over the last 9 years.
Caveat emptor, certainly, but we must also have some compassion for these youths dying for lack of sufficient help and, possibly, for substandard clarity in govt guidance.
quote:
Methods: We examined data from prescription and health care databases representing more than 265 000 children, adolescents and young adults annually to determine changes in the rates of antidepressant prescription, use of health services and outcomes in these populations in the 9 years before and the 2 years after the Health Canada warning. We also examined the data for unintended changes in these rates among patients with anxiety disorders. We used young adults as the comparison group because they were not targeted by the warning.Results: Following the warning, the rate of antidepressant prescriptions decreased among children and adolescents (relative risk [RR] 0.86, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.81- 0.91) and among young adults (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.86-0.93).
Ambulatory visits because of depression decreased among children and adolescents (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.85-0.96) and young adults (RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.87-0.96). The rate of completed suicides among children and adolescents rose significantly after the warning (RR 1.25, 95% CI 1.08-1.44; annual rate per 1000 = 0.04 before and 0.15 after the warning).
There was no equivalent change in the rate of completed suicides among young adults (RR 1.01, 95% CI 0.93-1.10; annual rate per 1000 = 0.15 before and 0.22 after the warning).
Among patients with an anxiety disorder, the prescription rates did not change among children and adolescents, except for a decrease in the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors other than fluoxetine, but the rates among young adults changed similar to the pattern of changes in the overall prescribing of antidepressants. There was also a significant decrease in the rate of physician visits because of anxiety disorders among young adults after the warning.
Interpretation: Health advisories and warnings issued by regulatory bodies may have unintended consequences on the provision of care, delivery of health services and clinical outcomes. Further efforts are required to ensure that health warnings do not result in unexpected harm.
Wed, 2008-04-09 21:13
#5
quote:
Originally posted by martin dufresne:
[b]I have also seen statistics hyped out of proportion to what they did reveal, especially in the suicide prevention field which antifeminists constantly exploit to describe adult men as at their wit's end.
But if you look up the actual research involved here, it seem to have been conducted over a huge number of cases and the 2-year upturn in youth suicides does constitute a dramatic change, in view of what had been a long-standing decline in suicide numbers over the last 9 years.
Caveat emptor, certainly, but we must also have some compassion for these youths dying for lack of sufficient help and, possibly, for substandard clarity in govt guidance.
[/b]
Martin, thank you for posting this stopic.
I've been on sort of depression for nearly two years now and am getting some technical familiarity to it. There was a lot of hype in the 1990s due to the fact people like Eric Harris (Columbine mastermind) were on anti-depressants. All this masks a few things, first people on these meds are at higher risk already. Secondly, a cursory look of psychiatric disorders even on wikipedia will show that a lot of them have overlapping symptoms, and it will be difficult to know which drugs to use... what's the problem? serotonin? epinephrine? dopamine? Thirdly, teenagers, and especially teenage boys, might be more likely to miss out on specific doses of the medication due to forgetfulness or laziness. Personally I find it a hassle to remind myself every morning and every night.
It might also be a problem with the health care in Canada, my own experience, and that of a lot of people I've spoken too, is that doctors in Canada often want to be done with you as fast as possible. I saw three doctors about these same problems in Canada and none asked me to come for a follow-up, nor suggested a prescription. People who don't have a lot of connections will have a lot of trouble finding a good GP. It's very different from my experience here where I'm seeing multiple doctors and they're all corresponding with one another, with frequent visits and follow-ups.
I also want to point out I disagree with your characterization of the male suicide rate discussion. I may be wrong, but it seems like you're describing it as anti-feminist propaganda. It's not, men really do commit suicide more often, 4 times more often. Some combination of nature and nurture discourages men from seeking help, and most people will have a lot of trouble tackling these problems on their own, and that's a serious public health issue and not a marketing gimmick.