Children on Antipsychotics

According to a recent, as yet unpublished study, "[s]oaring numbers of American children are being prescribed antipsychotic drugs — in many cases, for attention deficit disorder or other behavioral problems for which these medications have not been shown to work". The number of children prescribed such drugs jumped 500% between 1995 and 2002, to an estimated 2.5 million.

The findings are worrisome, "because it looks like these medications are being used for large numbers of children in a setting where we don't know if they work," said project leader Dr. William Cooper, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. Packaging information on Zyprexa and Risperdal, two costly and heavily marketed medications, says their safety and effectiveness on children have not been established. Some doctors prescribe antipsychotics to calm children with attention deficit disorder in an attempt to reduce temper outbursts and other disruptive behavior, and some doctors and parents say this works. Further study and some caution would appear to be warranted. Tanner, L. (2006, Mar 17). "Study: More children on antipsychotics." Boston Globe, p. A5.

Contributed by Michael Kalinowski

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