Geneticists and the general science community were first out of the block with their criticism, pointing out more than a dozen problems with the study.
Study leader Dr Jeffrey Johnson said more research was needed to see if depression problems in teenagers were an early phase of major depressive disorder or if minor depression earlier in life contributed to the development of more serious problems later on.
The New England Journal of Medicine released internal Merck memos indicating that Merck knew more about cardiovascular problems caused by Vioxx than it revealed when it published a giant study of the drug in 2000.
The study found a small number of patients had seen a health professional to talk about emotional problems - but more patients would have liked this support.