Statement on JAMA Study Showing Continued High Rate of Youth Suicides After "Black Box" Warnings

National mental health and suicide prevention organizations released the following statement today:

September 5, 2008-A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that shows a continued high rate of youth suicides in 2005, the year after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a "black box" warning on antidepressant medications, demonstrates an urgent need for further study into the cause of this trend.

The results show that the spike in teen suicides which occurred in 2004 was not an anomaly.  Given the steady decline in youth suicides in the 1990s, the results reported in JAMA are particularly disturbing.

Suicide is predominantly caused by depression: a brain-based condition with biological underpinnings. Depression can be successfully treated, especially with early, sustained interventions.

At a time when understanding of mental illnesses and their treatments is better than ever, the high rate of suicide demands increased research into its cause.

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Signees:

American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Mental Health America

Suicide Prevention Action Network USA