Suicide Rate Down in the Era of Prozac (A skeptic says gun laws might be the cause.)

LA Times ^ | February 3, 2005 | Alan Zarembo

[neverdem]

THE NATION

Numbers have declined since a 1980s peak when such drugs came into use, a study finds. A skeptic says gun laws might be the cause.

The U.S. suicide rate has fallen steadily since Prozac and related antidepressants came into use in the late 1980s, according to an analysis by researchers worried that evidence linking the drugs to suicide in children could reduce their use.

The suicide rate, which reached a peak in 1988 of nearly 13 deaths per 100,000 people, fell steadily to about 10.5 in 2002.

Most suicides are the result of untreated depression, not adverse reactions to antidepressants, wrote Dr. Julio Licinio and Dr. Ma-Li Wong, psychiatrists at UCLA, in an opinion piece released Wednesday by the journal Nature Reviews: Drug Discovery.

But Vera Sharav, president of the Alliance for Human Research Protection, said the conclusions of the analysis might not be valid because the decline could just as easily be explained by laws introduced around the same time reducing access to firearms — a common means of committing suicide.

The number of people being treated for depression rose more than 50% during the 1990s, an increase largely due to the availability of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs.

Studies conducted in Denmark and Sweden have shown that fewer than a fifth of suicide victims were taking antidepressants when they killed themselves.

The drugs, however, have recently become the focus of a medical debate after clinical trials data showed that they increased the risk of suicidal thoughts in children and adolescents. Starting this month, the drugs will carry a label warning of the dangers in minors.

Licinio said that he feared that the concern about the use of the drugs in children could deter adults from taking them.

"And then we will have...

[neverdem]

The gun control hypothesis sounds like BS to me.

"CONCLUSIONS: Based on the assumption that the greatest reductions in fatal violence would be within states that were required to institute waiting periods and background checks, implementation of the Brady Act appears to have been associated with reductions in the firearm suicide rate for persons aged 55 years or older but not with reductions in homicide rates or overall suicide rates."

Homicide and suicide rates associated with implementation of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act.

[neverdem]

FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.

[stevem]

But Vera Sharav, president of the Alliance for Human Research Protection, said the conclusions of the analysis might not be valid because the decline could just as easily be explained by laws introduced around the same time reducing access to firearms — a common means of committing suicide.

I can see his point. I think something like 37 states now have concealed-carry laws on the books. Seems like another one or two climb on the list every year. Violent crimes of nearly every class are declining.

Heck, anyone knows if you want to commit suicide, you have only three worth while ways. You can shoot yourself...hence the point above. Or you can light up a smoke. Lastly, you can deliberately walk on a street where an SUV has been sighted.

[TXnMA]

The gun control hypothesis sounds like BS to me.

It is BS.

The Brady Bill places controls on new purchases only..

The only viable statistic for this study would be the change in the fraction of deaths where newly-purchased handguns were involved.

[conservative cat]

There are so many ways of suicide that don't involve guns. If someone really wants a way out, they will find it.

[cajungirl]

A couple of problems here. Is this number corrected for demographic changes in the country over the last 17 years,,that is why crime has decreased in some places. Second, what about attempts. It is really hard to die by overedose of new antidepressants, not so with the old ones like Elavil. I wonder if there are the same number of attempts but just less deadly. And third I do think antidepressants and mood stabilizers do prevent suicide.

[lizma]

Maybe for guys. Women are much more genteel and neat.

We don't want to be discovered posthumously with a broken nail let alone splatter.

Kidding aside, I hope some day they to discover the physiological imbalances that cause mental illness and are able to cure them. We know so little of the workings of the brain and science can only move forward from here.

[jammer]

Excellent Point #1 (a point I make to Clintonistas when they talk about "their" decline in crime rates).