The Freakanomics Blog has an interesting post on anti-depressants where they conclude, at least by one account, that they do.
This is an obviously important question on many fronts, especially since SSRI's are among the most heavily prescribed drugs in the world, and because their safety and efficacy have lately been seriously questioned.
So it would be helpful to know if, at the very least, anti-depressants decrease the probability of suicide. In this new working paper, Jens Ludwig, Dave E. Marcotte, and Karen Norberg conclude that they do indeed.
Everyone that takes any medications, especially ones that are designed to affect your brain, of all things, should find out all of the side effects of those meds before they take them.
1 Comment:
I know little about the link between SSRIs and suicide, but I know 8 people who've been or are on anti-depressants and they've created other problems. I've heard complaints that they distort judgement or have an ADHD effect and withdrawal after long-term use is very unpleasant. A nation with the highest rate of SSRI consumption has a relatively high rate of suicide. Compare that to the fact that, per capita, we outspend other nations on diet aids and have the highest obesity rate. Interesting read.
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