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Thu Aug 10, 2006
5:35 am (PST)
Kids referred to psychiatrists after being screened by
TeenScreen absolutely will wind up on psychiatric drugs as a survey of recently
trained child psychiatrists found that treatment for 9 out of 10 children
consisted of prescription drugs. (Journal of the American Academy of Child
Adolescent Psychiatry 2002).
David Shaffer, the psychiatrist who conjured up TeenScreen should now admit his
screening program is a total failure. But, of course, that is only something a
man of honor would do. Previously Shaffer claimed that these drugs reduce
suicides in children!
http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/stories/ny-hsteen084844345aug08,0,4929159.story
Study backs kids' drug-suicide link
BY JAMIE TALAN
Newsday Staff Writer
August 8, 2006
Amid growing concern that antidepressants could lead some children to attempt
suicide, scientists set out to test whether these fears are justified.
They are, according to a new study.
Dr. Mark Olfson and colleagues at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at
Columbia University Medical Center used a Medicaid database of patients
hospitalized with severe depression. They used more than 5,000 in the study,
which is in the Archives of General Psychiatry, separating out a group of
children aged 6 to 18, and a group of adults - and those who attempted suicide
or succeeded. Then, they found five times as many patients who met the same
criteria, but had not committed suicide or attempted it. At that point, they
went back and looked to see who had taken antidepressants.
They discovered that young people who attempted suicide were 1.5 times more
likely to have been on an antidepressant. And although only eight children
actually took their own lives, they found that they were 15 times more likely to
have been on antidepressants. Children who took their own lives were far more
likely to have been taking a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, SSRIs, like
Zoloft and Paxil.
This study adds to mounting evidence of a link between the popular class of
SSRIs and an increased risk for suicide in young people. In 2004, the Food and
Drug Administration issued a health advisory that included a black box warning
so that health care providers consult families before children are prescribed
these drugs.
If suicidal thoughts do occur, it is generally in the first weeks or months on
the drugs. Parents are advised to keep a close eye on the child and report any
unusual symptoms or thoughts expressed by the child.
The Columbia study found no added suicidal risk among the adults studied.
"Children are not little adults," said Dr. Gabrielle Carlson, director of child
and adolescent psychiatry at Stony Brook School of Medicine. "This is not a big
effect," she added, although she labeled the finding "sobering." "What do
parents do with this information? They talk to their child's doctor and weigh
the benefits of taking these medicines and the risks," she said.
Olfson said there is probably a link between the drugs' side effect and the
chemistry of the younger brain.
++
See study here:
http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/63/8/865
In children and adolescents (aged 6-18 years), antidepressant drug treatment was
significantly associated with suicide attempts and suicide deaths. Mark Olfson,
MD, MPH; Steven C. Marcus, PhD; David Shaffer, MD, Author Affiliations: New York
State Psychiatric Institute / Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York (Drs Olfson and Shaffer); and
University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, Philadelphia
(Dr Marcus).
++
Schools are now opening again and TeenScreen is sending forms home to parents.
Have you formally presented the petition via e-mail to school officials in your
state and bcc'd the press?
Petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html (9111 Total Signatures
so far)
TeenScreen Schools:
http://www.teenscreen-locations.com/index.htm
++
If you would rather not receive the latest news via this e-mail line, please
send a message to
records@psychsearch.net with "UNSUBSCRIBE ME" in the subject line.
(posted as a requirement under legal and contractual requirements.)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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