Kids Use Of Antidepressants Soars
A new study shows that the use of antidepressants has soared among children and adolescents.
The study, which took place from 1988 to 1994, gathered information on 900,000 children and teens between the ages of 2 and 19. The data came from two state Medicaid systems and a health maintenance organization. Researchers found three-to-fivefold increases in the use of the drugs over the span of the study.
Julie Zito, associate professor of pharmacy and medicine at the University of Maryland, says the sharp increase could show a correction after years of under-recognition and under-treatment of disorders.
But, she says, it's also possible that the drugs are being over-prescribed.
Zito is scheduled to present her findings at Wednesday's meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in New Orleans.
In 1994, about 1.8 percent of children in the Medicaid programs and about 1.3 percent in the HMO were taking antidepressant, Zito said. Not all the children were taking the drugs for depression; many took the drugs for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
The rates increased with age, ranging from about 0.2 percent in children ages 2 to 4, to 3-4 percent for teens 15-19.
Dr. Joseph Coyle, chairman of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, said he suspects the increase is a result of better recognition and treatment of depression.
Depression is the most common serious psychiatric disorder in children and adolescents, he said. Some 2-3 percent of children ages 7-13 experience depression at any one time, and the rate increases as they grow older.
©MMI Viacom Internet Services Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report