ADHD drugs linked to suicide in kids

From David Bruser and Andrew Bailey on The Star.com:

“Adverse Reaction Report No. 324764

Submitted by: Health Professional

Date: 2009

Location: Canada

Patient: Male

Age: 15 years old

Suspect Drug: Strattera

Side Effect: Completed Suicide

This is just one of nearly 600 cases of Canadian kids suffering serious, sometimes fatal side effects suspected to have been caused by ADHD medications in the past 10 years.

A Toronto Star investigation has found a growing number of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and parents are reporting that they believe attention deficit drugs are causing major health problems in patients, many as young as 6 and 7 years old.

WHO study in China shows “pesticide exposure linked to suicidal thoughts”

Excerpted from EurekaAlert.org:

“A new study in China has found that people with higher levels of pesticide exposure are more likely to have suicidal thoughts. The study was carried out by Dr Robert Stewart from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London together with scientists from Tongde Hospital Zhejiang Province.

The agricultural pesticides commonly used in China are organophosphates which are in wide use in many lower income countries but have been banned in many Western nations. It is well known that they are very dangerous if ingested as an overdose but there is also biological evidence that chronic low-grade exposure to these chemicals, which are very easily absorbed into the body through the skin and lungs, may have adverse effects on mental health. This study is the first epidemiological evidence to suggest possible effects on suicidal thoughts.