Severe acne increases suicide risk - claim
Friday November 12th, 2010
Sufferers of severe acne are at a higher risk of attempting suicide, researchers have claimed.
A study, published on the British Medical Journal Online, says that although the skin condition is likely to be the main cause of suicidal thoughts there may also be an additional risk for those who are treated with isotretinoin, the most commonly prescribed drug for the condition.
Dr Anders Sundstrom and colleagues from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden investigated suicide attempts before, during and after isotretinoin treatment for severe acne.
Isotretinoin, which is commonly marketed as Roaccutane, Accutane, Amnesteem, Claravis, Clarus or Decutan, has been used to treat severe acne since the 1980s. Although effective, reports have linked it to depression and suicidal behaviour.
The authors found that of 5,756 people who were prescribed the treatment between 1980 and 1989, 128 patients were admitted to hospital following a suicide attempt. They also found that between one and three years before starting isotretinoin treatment the number of suicide attempts increased. However the risks were highest within six months after treatment ended.
Sundstrom and colleagues say it is not possible to speculate if it is the acne or drug is responsible for the rise in suicide risk, although they acknowledge that the increased risk could be “as a consequence of exposure to the drug” but believe “a more probable interpretation is that the underlying severe acne may best explain the raised risk”.
Their report urges medics to closely monitor all patients’ psychiatric status, regardless of whether they are not being treated with isotretinoin.
An accompanying editorial by Parker Magin and John Sullivan, two senior researchers in Australia, says "it is difficult to tease out the relation between mental health and isotretinoin because acne itself is associated with psychiatric morbidity, including depression”.
They acknowledge the importance of Sundstrom’s research, agreeing with the need for the monitoring of people who are being treated for acne, particularly if isotretinoin is unsuccessful.
British Medical Journal November 12 2010
Tags: Australia | Dermatology | Europe | Infancy to Adolescence | Mental Health
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