Antidepressants Reported To Have Severe Adverse Effects

News Desk

Islamabad: Surveys of people suffering from anxiety, depression or both have found that they have experienced serious adverse effects from the use of anti-depressants prescribed by a physician.

Antidepressant medications have many side effects, but some medications can cause serious side effects in certain age groups and people with various medical conditions.

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), a survey and research of a thousand people in the UK, including a documentary made by them, showed that anti-depressant drugs have some serious negative effects.

Antidepressants in particular may make younger people more susceptible to serious side effects, the report said.

People under 18 are usually not given anti-depressant drugs but if they are very compelling, they are given specific drugs. There are several drugs available for people over 18.

According to health experts, anti-depressants given to people aged 18 to 24 may make them more susceptible to negative side effects.

The report stated that the use of anti-depressants by young people also increases the number of suicidal thoughts. Moreover, the side effects of anti-depressant drugs usually consist of physical and sexual changes but in some people, their use increases negative thoughts.

People over the age of 25 who use anti-depressants commonly complain that their sex lives are affected, and they claim that such drugs take them away from sexual pleasure and sexual activity.

According to experts, the individual use of anti-depressant drugs may be different but there are not as many negative effects in collective use. Even so, there is a need for comprehensive research on all anti-depressant drugs.

A new study shows that between 2005 and 2012, there was a 54 per cent increase in the number of young people prescribed them in the UK. It also showed rises in Denmark (60 per cent), Germany (49 per cent), the US (26 per cent), and the Netherlands (17 per cent) in the same period.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director of Mental Health Dr Shekhar Saxena said that anti-depressant use amongst young people is and has been a matter of concern for two reasons.

“One, are more people being prescribed anti-depressants without sufficient reason? And second, can anti-depressants do any major harm? Another concern for the WHO is the prevalence of off-label prescriptions, where children are given drugs that are not licenced for use by under-18s,” Director stated.

Anti-depressants are a recognised treatment for managing depression in children but National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guidelines state they should not be offered initially for symptoms of mild depression.

In more serious cases, anti-depressants are only meant to be used in conjunction with psychological therapies.