Some trials had as few as 8 participants, the duration of the trials was short (8 weeks mostly), the patient population consisted of a mixture of in- and outpatients, the exclusion criteria in many trials were too strict (excluding the more depressed patients, who would show the greatest response to
SSRIs), trials varied in methodology, only if the trials were pooled was the increase in suicidal behaviour present, the trials were not designed to address whether
SSRIs increase suicidality and there were varying trial methods used.
It is no accident that this shift in thinking about how to handle mild depression has occurred at the same time as the development of the
SSRI drugs, along with extensive marketing campaigns by the companies that manufacture them.
Around the same time, a medical commission England tightened guidelines for using
SSRIs and other antidepressants in adults, recommending the drugs only for the initial treatment of moderate-to-severe depression, preferably in combination with psychotherapy.
Fat and lean mass were measured separately in this study, and, "to our surprise,
SSRI use was positively associated with both outcome variables in a similar manner," Dr.
This study didn't account for
SSRI indication as a potential confounder, and the study's inclusion of inpatients, whose illnesses are typically more severe, may limit generalizability.
Editor's Note: One-third of patients treated for depression with
SSRIs suffer a second depressive episode within one year, report the authors.
"Clinicians and patients need to balance the potential small increase in the risk of PPHN, along with oth er risks that have been attributed to
SSRI use during pregnancy, with the benefits attributable to these drugs in improving maternal health and well-being," they wrote.
Moreover, the adjusted risk of cardiovascular mortality over the course of a median 5 years of follow-up in this observational study was 36% lower in SSRI-treated patients with PTSD and metabolic syndrome than in those not on an
SSRI, and 64% lower in SSRI-treated patients with PTSD without metabolic syndrome.
However, in the final analysis that accounted for maternal characteristics including previous psychiatric hospitalizations,
SSRI exposure was no longer associated with stillbirth or postneonatal death.
L-methvlfolate plus
SSRI or SNRI from treatment initiation compared to
SSRI or SNRI monotherapy in a major depressive episode.
SSRI Stories now contains 628 murder incidents, counting school shootings and workplace violence, and more than 200 murder-suicides.
A woman was considered exposed to an
SSRI if she used any of the medications from 1 month before to 3 months after conception.