by Kevin Caruso September 14, 2004 Top Food and Drug Administration officials acknowledged for the first time that antidepressants appear to raise the risk of suicide in some children and teenagers. Testifying before two FDA advisory committees, the officials indicated that a recent Columbia University study that was contracted by the FDA showed that the drugs significantly increased the incidence of suicidal behavior in children and teenagers. "I think that we now all believe that there is an increase in suicidal thinking and action [among children and teenagers] that is consistent across all the drugs, said Dr. Robert Temple, director of the… Read More

by Kevin Caruso September 6, 2007 The U.S. suicide rate for 10- to 14-year-old girls rose 76 percent from 2003 to 2004, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Additionally, the CDC reported a 32.3 percent increase among 15- to 19-year-old girls, and a 9 percent increase among 15- to 19-year-old boys. And the overall youth suicide rate rose 8 percent. The dramatic increase sharply contrasts with the 28.5 percent decrease in youth suicide rates since 1990, thus causing alarm in the suicide prevention community. “Our news today is sobering. This is a dramatic and huge increase and it raises great concern… Read More