25% of children on atypical antipsychotic medication are less than nine years old, even though researchers know little about their long-term effects on the developing brain.
Researchers studied atypical antipsychotic drug use in an outpatient prescription claims database of 6,213,824 people during a one-year period − January-December 2001. There were 81,091 patients who had at least one insurance claim for an atypical antipsychotic. Of those, 20.5% (16,599) were under 19 years old. Nearly one fourth of the youth with antipsychotic claims were 9 years and younger, and 2% of them were children 4 years or younger.
From the source:
“Preliminary evidence suggests that adverse events (e.g. weight gain, sedation and extrapyramidal symptoms) may be both more prevalent and more severe in children and adolescents than in adults.”
Tags:
Antipsychotic medication, Children’s mental health
Citation:
Curtis LH, Masselink LE, Ostbye T, et al. Prevalence of atypical antipsychotic drug use among commercially insured youths in the united states. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005; 159(4):362-366.
