Zoloft for Kids?
Wednesday August 27, 2003
A study of major depressive disorder in children and teens that showed that sertraline is slightly more effective than placebo. It also had more side effects.
This really is an important study. Kids are already taking Zoloft, and we need to understand the implications of this. Some of the results are troubling, though.
17 of the 189 sertraline patients dropped out of the study because of adverse events, compared with only 5 who took placebo. Sertraline caused agitation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and anorexia in some patients. The children who took Zoloft also lost weight. The long term implications of this weight loss is unknown.
The bottom line - SSRI antidepressants may be helpful for some children and teens who are severely depressed, but psychotherapy is often also effective and has fewer side effects. It may be better so start there and save the antidepressants for those instances when psychotherapy doesn't help.
Read more about the recent study and the larger issues
This really is an important study. Kids are already taking Zoloft, and we need to understand the implications of this. Some of the results are troubling, though.
17 of the 189 sertraline patients dropped out of the study because of adverse events, compared with only 5 who took placebo. Sertraline caused agitation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and anorexia in some patients. The children who took Zoloft also lost weight. The long term implications of this weight loss is unknown.
The bottom line - SSRI antidepressants may be helpful for some children and teens who are severely depressed, but psychotherapy is often also effective and has fewer side effects. It may be better so start there and save the antidepressants for those instances when psychotherapy doesn't help.
Read more about the recent study and the larger issues