Antidepressants can raise the risk of suicide in under-18s, according to the largest ever review of evidence about the drugs.The study also cast doubt on the honesty of pharmaceutical companies, saying they have failed to report side effects and even deaths.
Relatives have claimed "for years" that antidepressant drugs have driven their loved ones to suicide, says the Daily Telegraph. Now evidence suggests the risk of suicide and aggressive behaviour doubles for under-18s if they take the drugs.
The research, carried out by the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Denmark and analysed by University College London, weighed up the results of more than 70 drug trials involving more than 18,000 people. The drugs reviewed were duloxetine, fluoxetine (also known as Prozac), paroxetine, sertraline and venlafaxine.
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The study also reported that drugs firms regularly misclassified deaths and suicide attempts in people taking antidepressants to "favour their products", a claim the charity Campaigns for YoungMinds said was "deeply worrying".
The report's authors concluded that young people should be encouraged to take exercise and offered psychotherapy before being prescribed medication because the risks of taking antidepressants outweigh the benefits.
NHS guidelines already state that under-18s should not be given antidepressants but despite this, there are around 100,000 prescriptions for Prozac alone given to teenagers in the UK.
However, it is not only under-18s who may be suffering, said the report's lead author, Peter Gotzsche. The research suggested the suicide risk is probably also higher for adults.
"What I get out of this colossal under-reporting of suicides is that SSRIs [antidepressants including Prozac] likely increase suicides in all ages," he said.
Commenting on evidence that pharmaceutical companies had misreported and misclassified suicides, he added: "It is absolutely horrendous that they have such disregard for human lives."
Among the cases mentioned is that of a patient on venlafaxine who attempted suicide by strangulation. The report says he was excluded from trial results by a drugs manufacturer as he had died five days later in hospital and his treatment had been discontinued.
Drug companies have defended their reports, insisting safety is their top priority.
Eli Lilly & Co, which manufactures Prozac, said: "No regulatory authority has ever determined that Lilly withheld or improperly disclosed any data related to these medications.
"Put simply, our goal is to make life better for people around the world and Lilly is committed to sharing the results of our clinical trials and ensuring this information is available to the people who need it."
