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As youth suicides increase, FDA's label rule criticized

www.chicagotribune.com

Suicide rates for preteens and teenagers increased sharply when the Food and Drug Administration slapped a "black box" warning on anti-depressants and doctors started writing fewer prescriptions for young people, according to federal data released Thursday.

The FDA's warning, publicly debated in 2003 and enacted in 2004, highlighted a link between anti-depressant use by young people and suicidal thoughts and behavior. But now some experts are asking whether the message backfired.

In 2004, the number of 10- to 24-year-olds taking their own lives rose by 8 percent, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. Over the previous 14 years, suicide rates had fallen 28.5 percent in that age group.

Although the numbers do not prove a connection between suicide and the drop in anti-depressant use, several experts suggested Thursday that the FDA re-evaluate its warnings on the medications in light of the new CDC report.

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