@article{ref1,
title="Deliberate self-harm and antidepressant drugs. Investigation of a possible link",
journal="British journal of psychiatry",
year="2000",
author="Donovan, S. and Clayton, A. and Beeharry, M. and Jones, S. and Kirk, C. and Waters, K. and Gardner, D. and Faulding, J. and Madeley, R.",
volume="177",
number="",
pages="551-556",
abstract="BACKGROUND: It is not clear if the frequency of deliberate self-harm (DSH) is the same in patients taking different pharmacological classes of antidepressant drugs. AIMS: To compare the frequency of DSH in patients who had been prescribed a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) or a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) prior to the DSH event. <br><br>METHOD: This was a prospective study in 2776 consecutive DSH cases attending an accident and emergency department. The incidence of DSH in TCA-treated cases and SSRI-treated cases is expressed as number of DSH events per 10 000 prescriptions of each antidepressant. <br><br>RESULTS: Significantly more DSH events occurred following the prescription of an SSRI than that of a TCA (P<0.001). The occurrence of DSH was highest with fluoxetine and lowest with amitriptyline. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Merely prescribing safer-in-overdose antidepressants is unlikely to reduce the overall morbidity from DSH.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0007-1250",
doi="10.1192/bjp.177.6.551",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjp.177.6.551"
}