Antidepressants do not appear to increase manic episode risk in depressed kids and teens

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-09-28 01:00

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Taking antidepressants for unipolar depression does not appear to increase the risk of manic episodes in kids and teens, according to Swedish and UK researchers. They looked at data from nearly 44,000 kids and teens aged between four and 17, roughly half of whom had received antidepressants. They found no clinically relevant difference in rates of mania between the two groups 12 weeks after treatment. However, the authors say a slightly elevated risk was seen when patients were followed up after 52 weeks. The incidence of manic episodes was low overall, they say, affecting between two and three kids per thousand at 12 weeks after treatment. The kids who were most likely to have a manic episode were those who'd been hospitalised, those on antipsychotic and antiepileptic drugs, and those whose parents had bipolar disorder.