|
Unfortunately, I have scattered the reports on childhood depression and its treatment over various pages under Depression. Hopefully, I will find time to group them all here as well. Risk Factors for Attempted Suicide in Young People: A prospective Danish study of children born in 1966 found that first-time suicide attempts were associated with parental psychiatric disorder, previous suicidal behavior, violence, physical child abuse, and neglect. Increased risk was found in teens and young adults with psychiatric disorders or physical handicaps, previously imprisoned, addicted to drugs, school dropouts, unemployed, and no vocational training. Being unemployed and having been in foster/residential care had the largest differential impacts. Christoffersen MN, Poulsen HD, Nielsen A. Attempted suicide among young people: risk factors in a prospective register based study of Danish children born in 1966. Acta Psychiatr Scand 11/2003;108:350-8 Child & Teen Affective Disorders in Zurich: A 1997 study of over 3000 children 7-19 years old found 9.4% of females and 1.1% of males to receive a DSM-III-R diagnosis for mood disorder. Steinhausen H-C, Winkler Metzke C. Prevalence of affective disorders in children and adolescents: findings from the Zurich Epidemiological Studies. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2003;108 (Suppl. 418):20-23. British Say Fluoxetine (Prozac) Only Acceptable SSRI for Children: British drug regulators have asked doctors not to prescribe Paxil, Zoloft, Effexor, Celexa, or Luvox to children after reviewing 11 studies using these medicines for depression in children and teens due to fears of increasing suicial thoughts and behaviors and hostility. According to the British, children already doing well on these medicines to continue them. Fluoxetine, the longest acting anti-depressant, was given a nod of approval. (New York Times 12/16/03). The FDA will hold hearing on February 3rd. Ed: Older tricyclics tend not to help depressed children. Fortunately, there are other medications and non-medication strategies, the later of which may have been underutilized up to the present time.
|