Researchers from Philadelphia and Baltimore find, in a study of Medicaid records for 50 states and the District of Columbia, that antipsychotic prescribing to Medicaid-enrolled children increased 62% from 2002 to 2007. Although proportionally more youth with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or autism received antipsychotics, by 2007 youth with ADHD accounted for 50 percent of the total antipsychotic use. The authors express concern about the need for efficacy data, in light of safety concerns.
Matone, M., Localio, R., et al; The Relationship between Mental Health Diagnosis and Treatment with Second-Generation Antipsychotics over Time: A National Study of U.S. Medicaid-Enrolled Children. Health Services Research, online September 4, 2012
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Increased Off Label Antipsychotic Drug Use Found Among Children
Giving kids drugs that shrink their brain for a made-up “disease”. I think we need more nuance.
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“by 2007, youth with ADHD accounted for 50 percent of total antipsychotic use; 1 in 7 antipsychotic users were youth with ADHD as their only diagnosis.”
these numbers confuse me
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