Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Jun;3(6):e220.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0030220.

Suicide rates and antidepressant prescribing: a casual or causal relationship?

Bernhard Baune  1 , Phillipa Hay
Affiliations

Suicide rates and antidepressant prescribing: a casual or causal relationship?

Bernhard Baune et al. PLoS Med. 2006 Jun.

Abstract

Baune and Hay discuss the strengths and limitations of an ecological study that found an inverse correlation between suicide rates and fluoxetine prescriptions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: PH has received reimbursement costs of attending symposia from Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, and Jansenn-Cilag. She has received honoraria (less than US$1,000 from each) for educational training of family doctors from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Lundbeck, and Astra-Zeneca. BB has received reimbursement costs of attending congresses from AstraZeneca, Bristol-Meyer Squibb, and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. He has received honoraria (less than US$1,000 from each) for educational training of general practitioners from Lundbeck, Astra-Zeneca, and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.

Comment in

References

    1. Milane MS, Suchard MA, Wong ML, Licinio J. Modeling of the temporal patterns of fluoxetine prescriptions and suicide rates in the United States. PLoS Med. 2006;3:e190. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0030190. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Butler R, Carney S, Cipriani A, Geddes J, Hatcher S, et al. Depressive disorders. Clin Evid. 2005;14:1–7. - PubMed
    1. Rutz W, von Knorring L, Walinder J. Long-term effects of an educational program for general practitioners given by the Swedish Committee for the Prevention and Treatment of Depression. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1992;85:83–88. - PubMed
    1. Rutz W, von Knorring L, Walinder J. Frequency of suicide on Gotland after systematic postgraduate education of general practitioners. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1989;80:151–154. - PubMed

MeSH terms

Substances