Effects of Food and Drug Administration Warnings on Antidepressant Use in a National Sample

Abstract

In several contexts, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warnings of serious adverse drug events have been followed by reductions in use of the targeted medications.^1-3 Over the past 4 years, the FDA and other regulatory agencies have issued various warnings concerning the risk of suicidal thoughts and actions associated with antidepressant medications, especially in the treatment of children and adolescents. Although these warnings have been widely reported by the public and professional press, their effects on the prescription of antidepressant medications remain a subject of debate.^4,5 A recent analysis of Verispan data reported that the number of youth antidepressant prescriptions per month significantly increased from April 2002 to February 2004, then tended to decline until July 2004, before stabilizing over the next 8 months.⁵ These trends suggest that media attention to antidepressant safety may have influenced antidepressant prescribing in youth. However, no information was provided in this study regarding the effects of individual FDA advisories on specific antidepressant medication use over time or on their effects on the rate of antidepressant use in specific demographic and clinical populations.