U.S. kids prescribed anti-psychotic meds 6 times more than U.K.
So the question, as the article states, is “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.
Information from: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,3541...
