Epilepsy, Anxiety Meds Don't Increase Suicide Risk

Follow Drugslib on

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on May 1, 2025.

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, May 1, 2025 — A class of drugs used to treat epilepsy, nerve pain and anxiety do not appear to increase a person’s risk of self-harm, a major new study says.

Gabapentinoids – which include gabapentin and pregabalin – have been associated with an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, researchers said in background notes.

But researchers found that patients had an increased risk of self-harm prior to being prescribed gabapentinoids, and that the risk rises again shortly after they stop taking the drugs.

“Our results cannot rule out a potential risk of self-harm associated with gabapentinoid prescriptions, but the association does not seem to support a direct effect of gabapentinoid treatment on self-harm because of the elevated risks observed before treatment initiation,” concluded the research team led by senior investigator Kenneth Man, a lecturer in pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety at University College London in the U.K.

In 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a report indicating an increased risk of suicide among people who took gabapentinoids and other antiseizure medications.

To look into this, researchers analyzed health records for 10,000 adults in the U.K. who were prescribed gabapentinoids between 2000 and 2020 and had at least one recorded incident of self-harm.

Results show the rate of self-harm increased by 69% in the three months prior to the start of gabapentinoid treatment, suggesting that people prescribed the drugs were already at higher risk.

The risk declined during drug treatment, but markedly increased again in the two-week period after patients stopped taking the meds, researchers found.

Overall, this suggests that gabapentinoids are unlikely to be directly linked to self-harm risk, researchers concluded.

However, the findings also “underscore the necessity for close patient monitoring of self-harm throughout the gabapentinoid treatment journey,” researchers added.

An accompanying editorial noted that “clinically, their results suggest that routine and periodic follow-up of people prescribed gabapentinoids should be considered, particularly in the weeks after medication has been discontinued.”

It added: “Whether young adults and people with no psychiatric diagnoses need more supervision while taking gabapentinoids requires further research to clarify.”

Amir Sariaslan, a senior research fellow at the University of Oxford in the U.K., co-authored the editorial.

The new study appears in The BMJ.

Sources

  • BMJ, news release, April 30, 2025

    • Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

    Source: HealthDay

    Posted : 2025-05-02 00:00

    Read more

    Disclaimer

    Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Drugslib.com is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Drugslib.com information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Drugslib.com does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Drugslib.com's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Drugslib.com's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners.

    The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Drugslib.com does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Drugslib.com provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

    Popular Keywords