Antidepressants trim suicide tries

Two extensive new investigations indicate that depressed people who take antidepressant drugs generally become less likely to attempt suicide.

Gregory E. Simon and James Savarino of Group Health Cooperative, a health maintenance organization in Seattle, analyzed medical and pharmacy records for 109,256 patients who had received depression treatment between 1996 and 2005. Patients’ suicide attempts spiked during the month before starting treatment with medication, psychotherapy, or both.