Strengths And Weaknesses Of Suicide

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Recommended: Importance of epidemiological studies in medicine

This discussion deals with the strengths and weaknesses of epidemiological research considering case studies of suicide and antidepressants among young people. In one epidemiological study of suicide related events in young people following prescription of antidepressants, Wijlaars et al (2013) examined the temporal association between selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) prescriptions and suicide-related events in children and adolescents.
Electronic health records were used from 479 general practices and UK primary care database from 1995 through 2009. The records and epidemiological research on the young population indicated that 81 young people committed suicide and 1496 attempted suicide, with 1178 cases of suicidal ideation and 2361 cases of intentional self-harm. The Incidence Rate Ratios (IRRs) were obtained for completed and attempted suicide, suicidal ideation and intentional self-harm.
The studies indicated that for non-fatal suicide related behavior, IRRs tend to increase during pre-exposure and peaked during prescription periods and decreased after stopping prescription drugs. Epidemiological research has indicated that there is an increase in IRR for completed suicide during the day of prescription and during the fourth week of prescription.
The study by Wijlaars et al (2013) found that a number of young people who were prescribed antidepressants did not show increased incidence or rates of suicide, suicidal ideation or intentional self-harm. The researchers recommended active pharmacovigilance to prevent antidepressant related suicide by monitoring the intake of antidepressants and the prescription period as the day of prescription and the fourth week after prescription w...

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...icide and antidepressants cannot necessarily prevent suicide. Use of antidepressants sometimes increases risk of suicide among young adults and epidemiological studies have been proven to be inconclusive. The study by Wijlaars et al (2013) has shown that young people on antidepressants do not necessarily have increased rates of self- harm or suicidal risks. Filakovic and Eric (2013) on the other hand have highlighted the restricted role of antidepressants in preventing suicidal behavior among mentally ill young adults. Sanchez-Gistau et al (2013) have suggested that antidepressant treatment was associated with high risk of suicide. The studies and the findings from epidemiological study could vary significantly and there is no conclusive argument on the definite correlation between antidepressant use and increase or decrease of suicidal behavior among young people.

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