Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Antidepressant use and the climbing rate of the suicide

Martha Rosenberg
Conditions
June 17, 2018
1K Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

It is not clear whether Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade were getting drug treatment for depression. What is clear is that suicide in the U.S. has never been higher even as the use of SSRI antidepressants has also never been higher. One in every eight American adults recently took an antidepressant says the CDC and the number is only rising. Are the drugs working?

The use of antidepressants almost tripled after direct-to-consumer drug advertising began. Only 13.4 million Americans took antidepressants in 1999-2000 ballooning to 34.4 million in 2013-4. In 2015 one in four U.S. women were on psychiatric drugs, usually antidepressants. Antidepressants were once a short-term therapy to help people get over a troubled time but long-term use has doubled since 2010 and tripled since 2000 so that 15.5 million Americans have been taking the medications for at least five years. “By the mid-1990s, drug makers had convinced government regulators that when taken long-term, the medications sharply reduced the risk of relapse in people with chronic, recurrent depression,” reported the New York Times.

Yet the jury is still out on the efficacy or safety of antidepressants used long-term. For example, SSRI antidepressant tachyphylaxis can be as high as 33 percent. And studies are only beginning to describe long-term side effects such as the link between SSRI use, BMD deterioration and fractures. In fact, SSRIs may interfere with osteoclast differentiation.

What is also clear is that some patients feel unable to discontinue SSRI therapy because of side effects and feel “parked” on the drugs.

In April, the New York Times reported that SSRI antidepressants can be very difficult to quit. In fact, the withdrawal from them––which drug makers call a “discontinuation syndrome” — is similar to that of addictive drugs. Many patients are miffed that they were not warmed by their doctors they may be on the drugs indefinitely said the Times thanks to side effects of dizziness, nausea, headache and brain zaps which do not go away quickly when they try to stop the drugs. Brian, a 29-year-old Chicagoan I interviewed who did not want his name used, told me he has remained on a SSRI antidepressant for years despite his wish to quit. “Every time I try to stop, I get something that feels like an electrical current in my head and I can’t do it,” he says.

The Times article drew a huge backlash from psychiatrists. “By amplifying the social media echo chamber, the article creates the unfortunate impression that most patients are forced to continue antidepressants out of fear of withdrawal rather than out of prevention of recurrence,” wrote 39 psychiatrists, terming depression “chronic” and “undertreated.”

Yet, before direct-to-consumer ads, lucrative SSRI antidepressants and doctors paid to promote drugs, “chronic depression” and long-term drug therapy were not the norm.

Finally, the very definition of depression itself, which is not detectable from lab tests, is expanding. Gone are the days when bad or sad moods are attributed to real problems with finance, romance, debt, jobs, housing, careers, family, marriages, and health. The antidepressant revolution has created an expectation that people who are not “more than happy” all the time need medication. The climbing suicide rate suggests the drugs are not working very well.

Martha Rosenberg is a health reporter and the author of Born With a Junk Food Deficiency.  

Image credit: Shutterstock.com 

Prev

It's time to create the safety net by normalizing psychiatric care

June 17, 2018 Kevin 1
…
Next

Obesity from the pathologist's perspective

June 18, 2018 Kevin 6
…

Tagged as: Psychiatry

Post navigation

< Previous Post
It's time to create the safety net by normalizing psychiatric care
Next Post >
Obesity from the pathologist's perspective

More by Martha Rosenberg

  • Fool women twice? Drug makers revive menopause as a “disease.”

    Martha Rosenberg
  • A job behind bars

    Martha Rosenberg
  • The scientific race to defeat a deadly virus

    Martha Rosenberg

Related Posts

  • Start with the students: Addressing the future of physician suicide

    Anonymous
  • Physician suicide: We need safe spaces to talk about it

    Ton La, Jr., MD, JD
  • Physician Suicide Awareness Day: Where are the patients? 

    Jennifer M. Sweeney
  • The climbing rates of maternal mortality in Black women

    Shani R. Scott, MD
  • When your institution has a less than 1% hiring rate for Black residents

    Karen Tran-Harding, MD
  • What can be done to improve our maternal death rate?

    Robert Pearl, MD

More in Conditions

  • The endless waves of chronic illness

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Surviving and thriving after life’s most difficult moments

    Rebecca Fogg, MBA
  • The surprising power of Play-Doh in pediatric care: How it’s bringing families together

    Alexander Rakowsky, MD
  • Lazarus: the dead man brought back to life

    William Lynes, MD
  • The psychoanalytic hammer: lessons in listening and patient-centered care

    Greg Smith, MD
  • 5 essential tips to help men prevent prostate cancer

    Kevin Jones, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

      Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN | Policy
    • The struggle to fill emergency medicine residency spots: Exploring the factors behind the unfilled match

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Physician
    • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

      Edward T. Creagan, MD | Physician
    • Deaths of despair: an urgent call for a collective response to the crisis in U.S. life expectancy

      Mohammed Umer Waris, MD | Policy
    • Beyond the disease: the power of empathy in health care

      Nana Dadzie Ghansah, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The harmful effects of shaming patients for self-education

      Maryanna Barrett, MD | Physician
    • The power of self-appreciation: Why physicians need to start acknowledging their own contributions

      Wendy Schofer, MD | Physician
    • The endless waves of chronic illness

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • Skydiving and surgery: How one doctor translates high-stress training to saving lives

      Alexandra Kharazi, MD | Physician
    • Telemedicine in the opioid crisis: a game-changer threatened by DEA regulations

      Julie Craig, MD | Meds
    • How this doctor found her passion in ballroom dancing [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 12 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Abortion Is Not Murder in the Eyes of the Law
  • Introducing Allergenic Foods Early Tied to a Reduction in Later Allergies
  • Isotretinoin REMS Still Needed, But Its Burden Could Be Reduced, FDA Staff Says
  • Children Do Well With Fewer Opiates After Surgery
  • High Out-of-Pocket Costs Tied to Less Follow-Up After Initial Mammography

Meeting Coverage

  • Children Do Well With Fewer Opiates After Surgery
  • Advances in Diagnosis and Management of Severe Cutaneous Adverse Reactions
  • Orismilast Clears Skin in Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis
  • New Combinations Promising in Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma
  • No Survival Benefit With CRT Versus Chemo for Locally Advanced Endometrial Cancer
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

      Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN | Policy
    • The struggle to fill emergency medicine residency spots: Exploring the factors behind the unfilled match

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Physician
    • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

      Edward T. Creagan, MD | Physician
    • Deaths of despair: an urgent call for a collective response to the crisis in U.S. life expectancy

      Mohammed Umer Waris, MD | Policy
    • Beyond the disease: the power of empathy in health care

      Nana Dadzie Ghansah, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The harmful effects of shaming patients for self-education

      Maryanna Barrett, MD | Physician
    • The power of self-appreciation: Why physicians need to start acknowledging their own contributions

      Wendy Schofer, MD | Physician
    • The endless waves of chronic illness

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • Skydiving and surgery: How one doctor translates high-stress training to saving lives

      Alexandra Kharazi, MD | Physician
    • Telemedicine in the opioid crisis: a game-changer threatened by DEA regulations

      Julie Craig, MD | Meds
    • How this doctor found her passion in ballroom dancing [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today iMedicalApps
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Antidepressant use and the climbing rate of the suicide
12 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...