Rise In Anti-Psychotic Drug Use By Kids

Study Shows U.S. Children Prescribed Drugs At Rate Six-Times Higher Than In U.K.

(AP)  American children take anti-psychotic medicines at about six times the rate of children in the United Kingdom, according to a comparison based on a new U.K. study.

Does it mean U.S. kids are being over-treated? Or that U.K. children are being under-treated?

Experts say that's almost beside the point, because use is rising on both sides of the Atlantic. And with scant long-term safety data, it's likely the drugs are being over-prescribed for both U.S. and U.K. children, research suggests.

Among the most commonly used drugs were those to treat autism and hyperactivity.

In the U.K. study, anti-psychotics were prescribed for 595 children at a rate of less than four per 10,000 children in 1992. By 2005, 2,917 children were prescribed the drugs at a rate of seven per 10,000 - a near-doubling, said lead author Fariz Rani, a researcher at the University of London's pharmacy school.

The study is being released Monday in the May edition of the journal Pediatrics.

By contrast, an earlier U.S. study found that nearly 45 American children out of 10,000 used the drugs in 2001 versus more than 23 per 10,000 in 1996.

There are big differences that could help explain the vastly higher U.S. rate.

A recent report in The Lancet suggested that the U.K.'s universal health care system limits prescribing practices there. The report also said direct-to-consumer ads are more common in the United States. These ads raise consumer awareness and demand for medication.

While drug company ties with doctors are common in both the U.S. and U.K., Vanderbilt University researcher Wayne Ray said U.K. physicians generally are more conservative about prescribing psychiatric drugs. Ray co-authored the U.S. study, published in 2004.

The new U.K. study, involving 1992-2005 health records of more than 16,000 children, is the first large examination of these drugs in U.K. children. It found the increase was mostly in medicines that haven't been officially approved for kids. They were most commonly prescribed for behavior and conduct disorders, which include attention deficit disorder.

Side effects including weight gain, nervous-system problems and heart trouble have been reported in children using these drugs and there's little long-term evidence about whether they're safe for them, the study authors said.

"This highlights the need for long-term safety investigations and ongoing clinical monitoring," they said, "particularly if the prescribing rate of these medicines continues to rise."

One of the most commonly used anti-psychotics in the U.K. study was Risperdal, a schizophrenia drug that is sometimes used to treat irritability and aggression in autism. Its side effects include drowsiness and weight gain.

Thioridazine, sometimes used to treat hyperactivity in attention deficit disorder, was frequently used early on. Its use decreased after 2000 when a U.K. safety committee warned of heart-related side effects, the authors said.

Reasons for the increases are uncertain but may be similar to those in the United States, such as an increase in autism cases and drug industry influence.

In both countries, the issue isn't simply how many children are getting these drugs, said Dr. David Fassler, a University of Vermont psychiatry professor. "The more important question is whether or not the right kids are getting the most appropriate and effective treatment possible," he said. Fassler wasn't involved in the study.

Dr. William Cooper, a Vanderbilt pediatrician, said the study shows the drugs are being used "without full understanding about the risks."

"I find it really interesting that we're now seeing increases in other countries besides the U.S., which suggests that the magnitude of this issue is global," said Cooper, also an author of the 2004 U.S. study.

[harp1963]

This is what happens when pharmaceutical companies (the largest lobby for the Republican Party) are allowed to offer doctors 5 star vacations for prescribing their medication. Our politicians eventually banned this practice because it basically amounted to bribery.

The ethics of people in high leadership positions in America doesn''t exist anymore. Their decision making process is solely about making ungodly amounts of money for a very small number of people.

Eternity is a long time to suffer so you could lay on a yacht for 40 or 50 years. Don''t worry "least of our brother" out there, it will all come out in the wash who the dumb ones really are. Patience.

My step-daughter and her husband have one of their kids on some sort of psychotic drug. I did some research on it and the side effects are, lack of appetite, lethargic and hard to sleep at night, so the doctor also prescribed a sleep aid.....FOR AN EIGHT YEAR OLD!!! When I visit, the TV is always on, everyone is text messaging someone, talking on the phone...playing on the computer. They sit in front of the TV to eat and this poor kids looks like he is in a world all by himself. EIGHT YEARS OLD and on two medications for WHAT?? Because he is inquisitive enough to ask a million questions? To me, he is a lonely child who just needs some guidance....Oh, but God forbid if he wants to do something that would interfere with their bowling night, or card playing night or dart league%u2026..

ADD and ADHD is just a cop out for the lazy parents that want to spend less time with their children. This country has lost its focus on what a true family shold be. Since both parents work, they depend on drugs to keep their children down so they can watch their TV programs. Hell, how many Americans actually have "family time" anymore? How many Americans actually sit down to supper with their kids in a dining room instead of their faces glued to CSI or some other show that HAS to be watched? Turn off the computers, TV''s iPods, cell phones and everything else for two hours a day and spend it with your children. It is a win win situation.

[drinuk]

OK Pollroller1, Hang ''Em, exterminate the b a s t a r d s.

[pollroller1]

Bang ''''em up in jail for 50 years and then stand back and wait for the results, no more MMR, no more Bird Flu, no more Gardasil and no more Big Pharma terrorism.Posted by drinuk at 07:36 AM
I don''t think that would help. There is so much money to be made that another greedy CEO will just step up to the plate and do the same thing. It is a shame that we are brain washed into thinking that all
all of our problems can be fixed by taking a pill.

[drinuk]

I can''t believe CBS censored the word P u s s y C a t !

[drinuk]

If anyone doubts the evil that the chemical and pharmaceutical companies are to mankind they should research the NEW illness which as been named as Morgellons Disease. It is the stuff of Science Fiction, man made from GM crops, Nano bugs crawling under your skin, breaking out into the open sores with blue fibres penetrating upwards. Time we stopped these real terrorists in their tracks, Bin Laden is a *** Cat compared to these greedy power hungry disciples of Satan. Hang ''Em! and the sooner the better. If just one more Judge decides in favour of Monsanto, Hang him as well!

[ajaxtheleast]

Here''s the problem...

Taking anti-psychotic drugS

will cure you of the psychosis to

take drugs and have your fun.

Message to kids:

"DONT TAKE ANTI-PSYCHOTIC DRUGS!"

[drinuk]

The World has a very serious problem with Big Pharma and their incestuous relationship with Governments. It is not being helped by the medical profession wearing blinkers and having been fully indoctrinated by the system and being punished by that same system if they deviate from their given route.

The Chemical and their Pharmaceutical brothers adulterate our bodies and those of our childen with poisons like MSG and Aspartame, causing untold illness, then tell us we need their Better poisons to cure us. The reason they can get away with it is because they have paid those in Government and in the Medical profession to support their evil AND we are Stupid enough to go along with it. We need to make an example of just two people, a Big Pharma CEO and one politician taking gifts. Bang ''em up in jail for 50 years and then stand back and wait for the results, no more MMR, no more Bird Flu, no more Gardasil and no more Big Pharma terrorism.

[grammawhamma]

"The report also said direct-to-consumer ads are more common in the United States. These ads raise consumer awareness and demand for medication."
---------
Cigarette ads were banned years ago....now its time to ban drug ads. "Ask your doctor if "blankety blank" is right for you. Side effects may include blah blah blah including death in some instances."