A significant number of U.S kids are being prescribed powerful antipsychotic medications to treat conditions for which they are not actually meant.
The findings published in the Archives of General Psychiatry found antipsychotic medications such as Abilify and Risperdal approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for disorders like autism being wrongly prescribed to treat problems like attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other behavior problems among young children. None of the prescribed antipsychotic medication was found approved by FDA.
"Only a small proportion of antipsychotic treatment of children (6 percent) and adolescents (13 percent) is for FDA-approved clinical indications," Health Day quoted lead researcher Dr. Mark Olfson, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, as saying.
"These national trends focus attention on the substantial and growing extent to which children diagnosed with ADHD and other disruptive behavioral disorders are being treated with antipsychotic medications."
Olfson and his team of researchers found a dramatic rise in the number of antipsychotic medication prescribed during 2005 and 2009 (1.83 for every 100 people) compared to 1993 and 1998 (0.24) and majority of the prescriptions were not for the conditions they have been approved for, Reuters reported.
Another remarkable finding of the study was that these prescriptions came from doctors who were not psychiatrists.
Findings of the study were based on the records of doctors' visits between 1993 and 2009.
After reaching a conclusion, the researchers urged parents to seek other treatments to find a permanent solution for the aggressive and disruptive behaviors in kids.
Supporting the current findings, a study conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier had found more American minor children receiving ADHD prescription recently - about 800,000 prescriptions a year. According to the health experts, a dramatic rise in the number of children diagnosed with ADHD in the recent past is the main reason behind the increase of ADHD prescriptions.
Children having ADHD face problems with paying attention, troubles in controlling impulsive behaviors (acting without thinking about the consequences), and hyper activity.
One in 11 children in the United States suffers from the most common neurobehavioral disorders of childhood. An early identification and treatment of the ADHD is important as the disorder can have a negative impact on learning and academic development.
