Patients Treated with Antidepressants and the Relative Risk of Suicide Attempt

Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) specifically to treat depression, with their generic or chemical names. The aim of this study was to characterize patients on antidepressants after self-poisoning with suicidal intent regarding age, sex, type of current antidepressant therapy, and type of substances ingested in order to commit suicide. This study was conducted on patients (n=1283) of different ages, 924 males and 359 female. These patients were attended to poison unit at emergency hospital, Mansoura University during the period from January 2002 to December 2009. During the study period, 175-Para suicide patients were found with current antidepressants therapy and presented with self-poisoning using their antidepressant therapy or other medications. A substantial difference between different types of antidepressants was found. Para suicide risks for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor were significantly low than those of tricyclic antidepressants, so in suicide prevention, risks and benefits of antidepressant should be taken into account when choosing treatment for depressive patients. At the same time, depressed patients should be under close psychiatric assessment in order to prevent such possible suicidal attempts.