Suicidal Thinking and Behavior During Treatment With Sertraline in Late-Life Depression

This study determined the effects of sertraline on suicidal thinking & behavior in patients with late-life major depression. This was a secondary analysis of an 8-week, placebo-controlled, double-blind randomzied trial. A total of 747 patients received at least one dose of medication & 728 had at least one posttreatment assessment. There were no suicides or suicide attempts during the double-blind trial. One serious adverse event, hospitalization, was associated with suicide ideation in a patient on sertraline. No other adverse events were associated with suicide ideation or behaviour. There was no evidence of greater emergent suicidal thinking or behaviour with sertraline than placebo. (19 refs.) JA