As President of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), I understand that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is struggling with the issue about whether or not antidepressants are safe and effective treatments for people living with mental illnesses. The AACAP’s position is that antidepressants are effective in the treatment of depression and worries that the stigma surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses will increase with extending the language of the current black box warning.
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Denise Espie, Director, Development and Communications, ext. 120, despie@aacap.org
Erin Baker, Communication Manager, ext. 119, ebaker@aacap.org
Washington, D.C., December 15, 2006 – As President of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), I understand that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is struggling with the issue about whether or not antidepressants are safe and effective treatments for people living with mental illnesses. The AACAP’s position is that antidepressants are effective in the treatment of depression and worries that the stigma surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses will increase with extending the language of the current black box warning.
Currently, the warning is imposed on antidepressants used to treat patients under 18 years-old. On December 13, 2006, the FDA’s Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted to extend use of the black box warning on all antidepressant medications to age 25 with the caveat that the labeling must include language about the suicide risk of untreated depression. The decision was reached after reviewing data from the FDA’s meta-analysis of suicide rates in adults using antidepressants, which showed that higher suicide risk was found in patients 18 to 25 and that the risk faded among older patients.
In 2004, the FDA imposed a black box warning on pediatric antidepressants. Immediately, there was a 22 percent decrease in antidepressants prescribed to patients under 18 years-old and a 50 percent increase in suicide, according to a study conducted by Robert Gibbons, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Health Statistics. The AACAP is concerned that this new labeling could create additional barriers to treatment and urges consumers and medical professionals to review the current data in context with the risk of not treating depression.
The National Institute of Mental Health’s (NIMH) Treatment of Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS) reports that a combination of Fluoxetine (Prozac®) and cognitive behavior (talk) therapy led to significant clinical improvement in 71 percent of moderately-to-severely depressed adolescents. Other studies report that more than 80 percent of patients with depression benefit from treatment and approximately 15 percent of patients with untreated depression commit suicide. It is estimated that more than 19 million Americans have symptoms of depression.
The NIMH defines depression as an illness that causes anxiety; feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, helplessness; decreased energy; fatigue, low self-esteem; difficulty concentrating, remembering, and making decisions; insomnia; weight gain and loss; thoughts of death or suicide; restlessness, irritability; and, impaired physical health.
Considering these reports, the AACAP stresses that patients prescribed antidepressants should not abruptly discontinue their medications. Concerned individuals should seek the advice of medical professionals as soon as possible.
Representing over 7,500 child and adolescent psychiatrists nationwide, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) is the leading authority on children’s mental health. AACAP members actively research, diagnose, and treat psychiatric disorders affecting children, adolescents, and their families.
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) is the leading authority on children’s mental health. AACAP members actively research, diagnose, and treat psychiatric disorders affecting children, adolescents, and their families.
Our Facts for Families, available free of charge on the AACAP website, provide concise and up-to-date information on a wide array of issues relating to children’s mental health. Written in a simple, straightforward manner, these 88 one-page fact sheets are valuable to anyone raising or working with children. In addition, the AACAP routinely refers the media to expert spokespeople on child and adolescent issues, and sponsors The Campaign for America’s Kids – an initiative designed to fund an Advocacy Institute for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, with the goal of mental health for all children.
AACAP Mission: The Mission of the AACAP is the promotion of mentally healthy children, adolescents and families through research, training, advocacy, prevention, comprehensive diagnosis and treatment, peer support and collaboration.
