Antidepressants and suicidality: History, the black-box warning, consequences, and current evidence

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: The first published literature on the topic of antidepressants and suicidality dates back to the mid-1950s. Today, 10 years after the black-box warning was issued, this controversial topic is still debated. This article will review the data behind the black-box warning and its revision; address the subsequent impact the warning had on depression diagnoses, prescribing patterns, follow-up visits, and suicide rates in the United States; and summarize meta-analyses on this topic published since the revised warning was issued in 2007. Methods: A PubMed database search using the MeSH terms Antidepressive Agents and Suicide was conducted from January 2012 through October 2014 to identify articles published on the impact the Food and Drug Administration's black-box warning had on health care at a national level and from January 2007 through October 2014 using the same MeSH terms to identify meta-analyses on the current research regarding the link between antidepressants and suicidality. Se...