Pharmalot brings us More Teenagers On More Meds: Why? Why indeed.
The problem with data like this is we can’t answer the question of why more teenagers are being prescribed more and more medications. Are they experiencing psychological disorders and more health problems than in past generations? Or are we just getting better at recognizing problems and issues that in the past would go undiagnosed? Or are there other factors that are contributing to the rise of prescriptions (e.g., social, family or peer pressures)?
The number of teenage girls taking drugs for Type 2 diabetes nearly tripled in just five years, while use of chronic meds for psychotic behavior and insomnia roughly doubled among boys and girls aged 10 to 19, a study showed.
Not surprising (to me anyways) is that antipsychotic medications, once rarely prescribed outside of adult schizophrenia, are enjoying a surge in prescriptions amongst teens:
Medco found prevalence of kids taking antipsychotic drugs, once called major tranquilizers, roughly doubled, with about 1.2 percent of boys and 0.75 percent of girls taking them in 2006. Widely used antipsychotic — including Risperdal, Zyprexa, Seroquel and Clozaril — are approved for treating schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in adults, but not children.
The study was conducted by a company called Medco, the largest pharmacy benefits management company, and analyzed the prescriptions of 370,000 children from 2001 to 2006.
FOXNews has more.
(6 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)
Loading ...You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
2 Comments to
“Disturbing Prescribing Trends in Teenagers”
I think Pharmalot sums it [data] all with two words “marketing works.”
Teengers have too much materials in their lives…as a result, it turns to a tradegy
Join the Conversation! Post a Comment:
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 16 May 2007
