Healthy Skepticism Library item: 335

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Publication type: news

Johnson L.
Behavior drugs top kids' prescriptions: More spent than on antibiotics, asthma therapy
The New York Post 2004 May 17

Full text:

As more children pop pills for attention deficit and other behavior disorders, new figures show spending on those drugs has for the first time edged out the cost of antibiotics and asthma medications for kids.

A 49 percent rise in the use of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder drugs by children under 5 in the past three years contributed to a 23 percent increase in usage for all children, according to an analysis of drug trends by Medco Health Solutions Inc.

“Behavioral medicines have eclipsed the other categories this year,” said Dr. Robert Epstein, Medco’s chief medical officer. “It certainly reflects the concern of parents that their children do as well as they can.”

Antibiotics still top the list of the most commonly used children’s drugs, but parents are paying more for behavioral drugs, such as stimulants or antidepressants, according to the analysis of drug use among 300,000 children under 19.

Medco, the nation’s largest prescription benefit manager, is to release the data today.

The most startling change was a 369 percent increase in spending on attention deficit drugs for children under 5. That’s in part because of the popularity of newer, long-acting medicines.

But the use of other behavioral drugs also jumped. Antidepressant use rose 21 percent and drugs for autism and other conduct disorders jumped 71 percent, compared with a 4.3 percent rise in antibiotics.

Epstein said 17 percent of total drug spending last year for the group was for behavioral medicines, compared with 16 percent each for antibiotics and asthma drugs, 11 percent for skin conditions and 6 percent for allergy medicines.

Use of behavior medicines has been controversial, with some experts questioning whether parents and schools are too eager to medicate disruptive children.

Some experts say no. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing that these medicines are being used more,” said Dr. James McGough, associate professor of clinical psychiatry at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.

McGough said kids on attention deficit drugs tend to avoid substance abuse and other problems and do better in school.

However, he said, rising adolescent use of antidepressants is a concern, because there’s little proof they work in young people and evidence they may increase suicidal tendencies.