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Rate of Suicide in Patients Taking Montelukast
Author(s) -
Jick Hershel,
Hagberg Katrina Wilcox,
Egger Pascal
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
pharmacotherapy: the journal of human pharmacology and drug therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.227
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1875-9114
pISSN - 0277-0008
DOI - 10.1592/phco.29.2.165
Subject(s) - montelukast , medicine , medical prescription , poison control , suicide rates , population , cohort study , cohort , pediatrics , emergency medicine , suicide prevention , asthma , environmental health , pharmacology
Study Objective. To estimate the rate of suicide in patients taking montelukast. Design. Population‐based cohort study. Data Source. United Kingdom General Practice Research Database. Patients. A total of 23,500 patients who had received at least one prescription for montelukast in the cumulative data from February 1998‐March 2007. Measurements and Main Results. Rate of suicide was to be calculated as number of suicides divided by person‐time at risk. Person‐time of montelukast exposure was accrued for each patient as a cumulative duration of all prescriptions. The 23,500 patients had received 252,593 prescriptions for montelukast, representing 21,050 person‐years at risk for suicide. We then sought to identify all cases that had a computer‐recorded diagnosis of suicide; however, no cases of suicide were found in patients exposed to montelukast during our time frame. Conclusion. The risk of suicide attributable to montelukast, if present at all, is extremely low in users.