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More American children
are being treated with psychiatric drugs such as Prozac, Ritalin
and Risperdal than in the past. According to a new study,
the number of children taking such drugs has tripled from
1987 to 1996 and continued to increase through 2000.
The increase may
be indicative of better diagnosis of mental illness in children,
however, researchers voiced concern that drug-company marketing,
cost-saving efforts by insurance companies and increased demands
on parents and physicians may be fueling the urge to prescribe
medication.
Although most psychiatrists
say that a treatment plan including both medication and psychotherapy
is most effective, psychotherapy is more expensive in the
short-term than medication. Therefore, insurance companies
stand to increase their profits by promoting medication over
therapy.
Insurers say, however,
that improvements in available medications account for the
increase in prescription rates.
The study, which
evaluated 900,000 children on Medicaid in a Midwest state,
a mid-Atlantic state and in a private HMO in the Northwest,
found that by 1996, more than 6 percent of children were taking
psychiatric drugs. Researchers stated that during the 1990s,
youth were treated with such medications at close to the same
rate as adults; however, few safety studies to assess the
affects of these drugs in children have been conducted.
Further, while
the medications may help to alleviate symptoms, they do not
address the self-esteem, behavioral and social issues that
are often a part of mental illness, said one analyst. Parents
who suspect their children may be suffering from mental illness
should have them comprehensively evaluated in order to determine
the best possible treatment options.
Washington
Post January 14, 2003; Page A01
Archives
Pediatric Adolescent Medicine January 2003;157(1):17-25
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