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By Herb Newborg

All Antidepressants Raise the Risk of Suicide in Children
Regardless of the drug taken, suicide and suicidal thinking increases with use.

There appears to be no difference among antidepressants as they all raise a youngster’s risk of suicidal thoughts, according to a new long-term study in Pediatrics. The research supports the FDA decision in 2004 to mandate a “black box” on all antidepressants for increased suicidality risk in children and adolescents who take the meds and answers the question about which med carries the most risk, HealthDay writes.

“Across the most frequently prescribed antidepressant agents, there was no difference in risk of suicide attempts and completed suicides,” lead researcher Sebastian Schneeweiss, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, tells HealthDay.

The FDA showed a doubling in the risk of suicidal ideation among kids taking antidepressants, compared with placebo, he notes, but adds the FDA analysis didn’t specify which meds were used, so there was no way to tell whether there were differences in risk. “Physicians need to know if there is an agent where the risk is reduced or particularly elevated,” he tells HealthDay. The report is published in the April 12 online edition of Pediatrics (subscription required).

Data was collected on 20,906 youngster aged 10 to 18 who were diagnosed with depression in British Columbia. They were followed for nine years and were on several commonly prescribed antidepressants, including Celexa, Prozac, Luvox, Paxil and Zoloft.

In the first year after starting treatment, there were 266 suicide attempts and three completed suicides. However, no significant difference in attempted or completed suicides was noted based on which antidepressant was taken.

The two key symptoms of depression are a depressed mood and loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyed. Besides these two key symptoms, a few other depression symptoms include restlessness and irritability, thoughts of death or suicide, and feelings of hopelessness and pessimism. It is important to keep in mind that people suffering from depression cannot simply "pull themselves together." Symptoms of depression can last for weeks, months, or years.

In certain cases, patients can alternate between periods of depression and mania, also known as bipolar disorder or manic depression. Depression (and the fluctuation between depression and mania) is thought to be caused by alterations in serotonin levels in the brain.

How Chiropractic Care Relates to Depression & Bipolar Disorder

While medical science has not determined the exact cause of altered serotonin levels that are suspected to produce depression and bipolar disorder, recent research has pointed towards a likely trauma-induced origin for certain cases of mood disorders. Evidence supports that trauma (in particular mild concussive injury to the head, neck or upper back) increases the risk of onset of depression. Following the trauma, mood disorders can be triggered immediately or can take months or years to develop.

Chiropractic care may reverse the trauma-induced injury; thereby reducing irritation to the injured nerves in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord).

Numerous research studies have documented improvement in depression and related symptoms as a result of chiropractic adjustments which reduce pressure on the brain stem and spinal cord caused by misaligned vertebrae.