Year: 2007 Source: BMJ, v.334, no.7587, (February 3, 2007), p.242-247 SIEC No: 20070158

A retrospective cohort study compared the risk of suicide in adults using venlafaxine compared with citalopram, fluoxetine, & dothiepin. 219,088 patients, aged 18-89 years, who were prescribed one of these drugs from 1995-2005 were included in the study. Venlafaxine use was consistently associated with higher risk of suicide compared with the other drugs. However, these users had a higher burden of suicide risk factors & adjustment for measured confounders substantially reduced the excess risks. Due to the research methodology, it is possible residual confounding explains much, if not all, of the observed excess risk. (24 refs.)