Do SSRIs Increase Violent Criminal Acts?

Barbara Geller, MD reviewing Molero Y et al. PLoS Med 2015 Sep.

Low doses are associated with violent crimes in 15- to 24-year-olds, according to a Swedish registry study.

Although it is well established that youth commit most crimes, whether use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are related to violence in this age group is less clear. To study this relationship, investigators analyzed registry data on 856,493 people in Sweden who received an SSRI prescription, 8377 of whom were convicted for a violent crime against a person.

Data analyses compared crimes when individuals were on or off SSRIs and controlled for other psychotropic medications and reverse causality (i.e., SSRI prescribed after the crime was committed). Subjects were placed into 10-year age groups, beginning with ages 15 to 24, until age 45 (due to low crime rates later in life). Conviction risk was significantly associated with SSRI treatment periods but only at low doses in the 15–24 age group. Arrests and nonviolent convictions also showed significant associations.

Citation(s):

Molero Y et al. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and violent crime: A cohort study. PLoS Med 2015 Sep; 12:e1001875.