OT: American Kids Take Anti-Psychotic Medicines at Six Times the Rate of U.K. Children
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reasons are obvious, yet the managed media fails to
conduct the research and present more of the findings:
sugar and high-fructose corn syrup in foods,
monosodium glutamate, other additives, pesticides,
high energy violence and oversophistication in kid's
cartoons, lack of supervised sports opportunities,
junk foods, fast foods, and hyped video-games ...
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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354129,00.html
Study: American Kids Take Anti-Psychotic Medicines at Six Times
the Rate of U.K. Children
Monday, May 05, 2008
CHICAGO — American children take anti-psychotic medicines at about six times
the rate of children in the United Kingdom, according to a comparison based on
a new U.K. study.
Does it mean U.S. kids are being over-treated? Or that U.K. children are being
under-treated?
Experts say that's almost beside the point, because use is rising on both
sides of the Atlantic. And with scant long-term safety data, it's likely the
drugs are being over-prescribed for both U.S. and U.K. children, research
suggests.
Among the most commonly used drugs were those to treat autism and
hyperactivity.
In the U.K. study, anti-psychotics were prescribed for 595 children at a rate
of less than four per 10,000 children in 1992. By 2005, 2,917 children were
prescribed the drugs at a rate of seven per 10,000 — a near-doubling, said
lead author Fariz Rani, a researcher at the University of London's pharmacy
school.
The study is being released Monday in the May edition of the journal
Pediatrics.
By contrast, an earlier U.S. study found that nearly 45 American children out
of 10,000 used the drugs in 2001 versus more than 23 per 10,000 in 1996.
There are big differences that could help explain the vastly higher U.S. rate.
A recent report in The Lancet suggested that the U.K.'s universal health care
system limits prescribing practices there. The report also said
direct-to-consumer ads are more common in the United States. These ads raise
consumer awareness and demand for medication.
While drug company ties with doctors are common in both the U.S. and U.K.,
Vanderbilt University researcher Wayne Ray said U.K. physicians generally are
more conservative about prescribing psychiatric drugs. Ray co-authored the
U.S. study, published in 2004.
The new U.K. study, involving 1992-2005 health records of more than 16,000
children, is the first large examination of these drugs in U.K. children. It
found the increase was mostly in medicines that haven't been officially
approved for kids. They were most commonly prescribed for behavior and conduct
disorders, which include attention deficit disorder.
Side effects including weight gain, nervous-system problems and heart trouble
have been reported in children using these drugs and there's little long-term
evidence about whether they're safe for them, the study authors said.
"This highlights the need for long-term safety investigations and ongoing
clinical monitoring," they said, "particularly if the prescribing rate of
these medicines continues to rise."
One of the most commonly used anti-psychotics in the U.K. study was Risperdal,
a schizophrenia drug that is sometimes used to treat irritability and
aggression in autism. Its side effects include drowsiness and weight gain.
Thioridazine, sometimes used to treat hyperactivity in attention deficit
disorder, was frequently used early on. Its use decreased after 2000 when a
U.K. safety committee warned of heart-related side effects, the authors said.
Reasons for the increases are uncertain but may be similar to those in the
United States, such as an increase in autism cases and drug industry
influence.
In both countries, the issue isn't simply how many children are getting these
drugs, said Dr. David Fassler, a University of Vermont psychiatry professor.
"The more important question is whether or not the right kids are getting the
most appropriate and effective treatment possible," he said. Fassler wasn't
involved in the study.
Dr. William Cooper, a Vanderbilt pediatrician, said the study shows the drugs
are being used "without full understanding about the risks."
"I find it really interesting that we're now seeing increases in other
countries besides the U.S., which suggests that the magnitude of this issue is
global," said Cooper, also an author of the 2004 U.S. study.
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