Suicides rise sharply in U.S. youth, studies find

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Suicides among children and young adults rose by an alarming 8 percent in 2004, a year when concerns about the dangers of antidepressants triggering suicides were widely publicized, federal researchers reported on Thursday.

Regulators said they would check into whether the rise may have occurred when some people stopped taking antidepressants -- ironically because of links between use of the drugs and suicidal thoughts.

In 2004, 4,599 children and adults aged 10 to 24 committed suicide, the biggest rise in suicides in 15 years. Suicide was the third-leading cause of death in that age group, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The increase was seen mostly in girls aged 10 to 19 and boys 15 to 19. The biggest increase was among girls aged 10 to 14, where rates rose nearly 80 percent.

The CDC noted a sharp rise in hanging or suffocation suicides among girls in this age group.

"Our news today is sobering," Dr. Ileana Arias, director of CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, said in a telephone briefing. "We don't yet know if this is a short-lived increase or if it's the beginning of a trend."

In 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration required a "black box" warning that antidepressant drugs, taken by millions of Americans, could increase the chances of suicidal thoughts or actions in children and teen-agers.

Many psychiatrists have criticized the warnings, saying they scare people away from effective treatment and may have contributed to an increase in suicides in recent years.