Psychotropic Drug Usage in Preschoolers Stabilizes

A recent nationwide study looks at the use of psychotropic prescription medications that treat emotional problems in children, including ADHD. Research shows that drug use in those 2 to 5 has relatively leveled off in the United States, with peak use from 2002 to 2005.

"Psychotropic usage decreased from 43 percent of those with one or more behavioral diagnoses in 1994-1997 to 29 percent in 2006-2009," researchers said, via a press release.

The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study notes that more than 43,000 children from two national surveys have collected information on patient visits to office-based physician patients and hospital-based outpatient clinics.

 "The likelihood of receiving a behavioral diagnosis increased in 2006 to 2009, but this was not accompanied by an increased propensity toward psychotropic prescription," said Tanya Froehlich, MD, a pediatrician at Cincinnati Children's and the study's senior author, via the release. "In fact, the likelihood of psychotropic use in 2006-2009 was half that of the 1994-1997 period among those with a behavioral diagnosis."

Background information from the study shows that the number of prescriptions has been significantly lowered. Yet researchers also found that there has been an increase of psychiatric medications among children who have the following things-boys, white children and those without private health insurance who were seen during the 16-year study period from 1994-2009," according to the release.

"Our findings underscore the need to ensure that doctors of very young children who are diagnosing ADHD, the most common diagnosis, and prescribing stimulants, the most common psychotropic medications, are using the most up-to-date and stringent diagnostic criteria and clinical practice guidelines," Dr. Froehlich said. "Furthermore, given the continued use of psychotropic medications in very young children and concerns regarding their effects on the developing brain, future studies on the long-term effects of psychotropic medication use in this age group are essential."

"I think we have to be really thoughtful about the use of these medications because we don't really know what they're doing to the brains of developing children," she added.

Many believe that the use of psychotropic medications have leveled off due to warning labels issued by the Food and Drug Administration, via the news release: "These include a 2004 FDA "black box" warning regarding suicidality risk, 2005 public health advisory regarding potential for cardiovascular risks involving amphetamines, and a 2006 FDA Advisory Committee recommendation (later reversed) for a black box warning on psychostimulants linking these drugs to possible heart problems."

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Pediatrics.