Evidence-Based Mental Health reviews studies (from 1987 to 2011) of antipsychotics in people under 24 years old, finding weak evidence on comparative effectiveness of antipsychotics or on adverse effects. There was a high risk of bias in 90% of the studies due to industry funding. Little attention was paid to dosages in relation to adverse effects, and the short median study duration (8 weeks) was not long enough to fully assess risks. There were no studies that examined the use of antipsychotics in OCD, PTSD or anorexia nervosa.
Let me tease some research that I think will come out in the next year or so.
MENTALLY ILL DIE 45 YEARS EARLIER, ON AVERAGE
“Adults with serious mental illness whose treatment included psychiatric medications when they were 12 years old or younger die about 45 years earlier than Americans overall.”
A fiction? Sadly, I think not.
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