Mind concerned as new study links Seroxat to increased risk of suicide

Posted Monday 22 August 2005

"This study would seem to be an extremely worrying addition to growing evidence raising serious concerns over the safety of paroxetine (Seroxat). It confirms what Mind service users have long been telling us anecdotally, information that has led us to campaign strongly on the issue for a number of years. 

Following a BBC Panorama documentary on paroxetine in 2002, 1,374 people called or emailed the programme makers about their experiences or the experiences of loved ones. In 16 cases this was to report a suspected link between paroxetine and a suicide. 

Mind's own research has revealed that 50 per cent of the people who contacted us to report a reaction to Seroxat had experienced feelings of wanting to self-harm or commit suicide, and 58 per cent of these people said they had not experienced these feelings before they started taking Seroxat. 

By ignoring what mental health service users themselves have said about the medication and its effects, the drugs regulators may well have caused lives to be lost."

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