Cardin Calls for Probe of Military Suicides and Antidepressant Use
Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland called Wednesday for a government-funded investigation into possible links between the growing use of anti-depressants by members of the military and high rates of suicide among men and women in uniform.
The Democratic senator, in remarks to a Senate Armed Services subcommittee, said that only "a proper scientific study" can determine whether "DOD is prescribing anti-depressants to its service members appropriately."
Cardin quoted from the most recent Defense department statistics, covering 2005 to 2008, which showed a 400 percent increase in prescriptions for antidepressants and other drugs used to combat anxiety. The senator called those numbers "disturbing."
At the same time, other government figures have reflected a significant increase in suicides among those in uniform. For example, in 2009, there were 160 suicides among active-duty members of the U.S. Army, a 15 percent increase over 2008.
Cardin called the number of suicides "unprecedented" and asked whether there was a relationship between the use of antidepressants and "the alarming rate of suicides" in the military.
He said the Food and Drug Administration has expressed concerns about many of the same drugs prescribed routinely for troops battling anxiety and depression. The FDA's interest has led drug manufacturers to revise warning labels on their products to indicate that young adults, ages 18 to 24, may be at "elevated risk of suicidal thought and behavior while using these medications," said Cardin.
Roughly two in five U.S. servicemen and women serving in Afghanistan and Iraq fall into the 18-24 age bracket, the senator said. About two in five Army suicide victims in 2006 and 2007 were believed to have taken anti-depressants, Cardin added.
Cardin succeeded in getting the Senate to insert an amendment on the issue into a Defense measure last year, but it was removed before Congress approved the legislation. There will be another attempt made this year, according to his office, to have Congress authorize a scientific study of possible links between military suicides and a range of antidepressants, sleeping pills and other narcotics prescribed to combat troops.
At the hearing, Cardin renewed his call for the Senate to consider requiring the Defense department to deliver an annual disclosure of "the extent to which it is employing antidepressant medications to treat the wartime stress and overall mental health of our service men and women.”
Comments
I'm really glad to see this effort on the part of Senator Cardin, who sadly lost his own son to suicide. Currently, service members who commit suicide while in a war zone do not get a letter sent to family from the President. This should change. Depression is an illness, not a weakness. It's time for the stigma to end.
Posted by: HealthCareForAll | March 24, 2010 7:37 PM
Thank You Senator Cardin, My nephew is Marine, who served two tours of duty. This problem of haphazardly prescribing psychotropic drugs has grown out of control. My sincerest condolences to the Senator and his family.
Posted by: Lisa Van Syckel | March 25, 2010 8:09 AM
Lexapro is a permanent life long cure for any depression if you can survive the treatment. I was prompted by a marriage counselor to go to my doctor and request drugs for my OCD symptoms (checking, intrusive sad thoughts, previous eating disorders as a teen and heavy drinking-probably perpetuated by my father’s suicide in 1981 while he was on imipramine and numerous other psych med’s) I went to my husband’s pcp who never met me before. He gave me a depression self-test and diagnosed me with depression and anxiety, and then prescribed me Lexapro and Rozerem since I had a terrible insomnia problem. He also decided it was a good idea to start kissing me and grabbing me in his office. The Lexapro did such a good job getting me up and doing things, lots of things, but unfortunately, I believe it also may have made me nervous because it raised my blood pressure from it’s usual 120/80 to 145/110. I was really up, up, up. I could drink twelve shots of straight liquor and still be walking around for hours. This was the busiest year of my life. I managed to get 2 DUI’s 4 drunk in publics and an involuntary commit for suicide, attend 2 rehab’s, a hypnotherapist, weekly ASAP programs, all while working full time. During the course of my medical treatment, I was seen by 3 psychiatrists, 4 doctors, and numerous counselors. Most of the follow up treatment involved numerous more drugs, anti-buse, campral, and Buspar. All of which I had to stop taking due to side effects such as full body tremors and falling down. Finally, after the second DUI which I was also charged with a felony for pinching a police officers butt, I decided maybe I should stop taking the Lexapro b/c I seemed to have developed some obsession with alcohol and I could see I was also becoming delusional. So, while in jail, I requested no more medication for 1 week and was able to fully withdraw from Lexapro, although the depression side effects of the withdrawal lasted about three months. I met numerous other women in jail for DUI’s while on Zoloft, Lexapro and Abilify and others for shoplifting on Zanax. My depression is 100% permanently cured. I no longer ever feel sad about my life. I have never killed anyone driving drunk, I didn’t kill myself, I am no longer in jail, I didn’t get my kid taken away from me, I am not in a mental institution, and I don’t have a lethal diastolic blood pressure of 110 anymore. No matter what happens in my life now, I am always hopeful and never depressed. I know things could be much worse.
Posted by: rockki | April 1, 2010 3:33 PM