A new study came out that documents the point of view that the use of anti-depressants might be factor in teen suicide.
It is disturbing to think that drugs that are developed to help might do harm. I would not be in a position to dispute such findings from a scientific point of view. But I am also not convinced that enough evidence has been presented to demonstrate that anti-depressants contribute to suicide among a population already pre-disposed to consider it given the fact that they suffer from serious depression.
Depression is not a virus. It is not a bacteria. It is not something you can see an immediate effect or not. The study of it must consider a multitude of outside circumstances. In the current environment that so easily damns risk over benefit, that is something important to take into account.
Depression is something that can affect one from childhood through adulthood. An approach to study of adolescents suffering depression must consider whether or not a co-hort of those teens suffering from depression who are left untreated also experience high risk of suicide. In other words, do teens who are genuinely suffering from depression face a higher risk of suicide than those who receive treatment? And are teens being appropriately treated with anti-depressants?
Therefore, it is important to conduct a study that compares teens who suffer true depression who get treatment against those who also suffer, but refuse treatment to determine the suicadality rates.
People who suffer from depression experience a serious loss in quality of life. That makes them more prone to suicide. Administering studies that show these populations having higher risks when taking drugs must consider them against those who don’t take them. Otherwise, those taking the treatments may fear they are at higher risk. We owe that to the sufferers of depression to get a solid answer to the question in a scientific way that we would apply to other conditions.
