Current evidence indicates that antidepressants increase the risk of suicidality in children and adolescents. Therefore the use in this population should be restricted and they should only be used for the authorised indications. This risk is closely related to an increase in suicidal ideation.
Indirect evidence suggests that the risk of suicidality may be higher with venlafaxine. There is insufficient evidence that any antidepressant reduces this risk. There is a large body of evidence that antidepressants increase the risk of serious adverse events and discontinuations due to adverse events under any indication in comparison with placebo. In the studies available, the safety is analysed when treatment starts and, in general, these are short-term studies, therefore the risk of this type of adverse event in the long term cannot be ruled out.