Do Antidepressants Cause Suicidality in Children? A Bayesian Meta-Analysis

The authors extended the Food & Drug Administration’s anlysis of antidepressant efficacy in children using a Bayesian hierarchical model. An association between antidepressant use & an increased risk of suicide was found in studies where the diagnosis was major depressive disorder & where the antidepressant was a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. No evidence was found for such as association in the complement set of trials. It is concluded that the evidence supporting a causal link between antidepressant use & suicidality in children is weak. (33 refs.)