More Kids Receiving Psychiatric Drugs

[boulder]

The number of American children being treated with psychiatric drugs has grown sharply in the past 15 years, tripling from 1987 to 1996 and showing no sign of slowing, researchers said yesterday.

 

A newly published study, the most comprehensive to date, found that by 1996, more than 6 percent of children were taking drugs such as Prozac, Ritalin and Risperdal, and the researchers said the trajectory continued to rise through 2000.

 

While the increase may partly reflect better diagnosis of mental illness in children, the authors said they fear that cost-saving techniques by insurance companies, marketing by the pharmaceutical industry and increased demands on parents and doctors may be driving the increase.

 

"There are fewer options other than medication," said Michael Jellinek, chief of child psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, who reviewed the new study.

 

Insurers have increased their profits by decreasing the use of psychotherapy, which is more expensive than drugs in the short run, he said. "The insurance system gave an incentive for medications and a disincentive for therapy."

 

The insurance industry disputes that interpretation, suggesting instead that more children are getting drugs because more effective medicines have been developed. Most psychiatrists say that a combination of psychotherapy and medication often provides the best treatment.

 

The new research found steep increases in the use of most classes of medicines, including antipsychotic drugs. Such powerful medications, normally meant to treat schizophrenia, were increasingly being prescribed to children on Medicaid, said the study's lead author, Julie Zito -- possibly as a way to restrain difficult children.

 

"Other than zonking you, we don't know that behavioral management by drug control is the way to learn to behave properly," said Zito, a researcher at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. "If we are using drugs to control behavior, that doesn't change the underlying problem if someone doesn't know how to get along with their peers."

 

Zito's study evaluated 900,000 children on Medicaid in a Midwest state, a mid-Atlantic state and in a private HMO in the Northwest. Zito said the large study made it likely that the data are representative of the nation's population. A re-evaluation of one of the health plans in 2000 found that the increase had continued, she added.

 

"The medicine may help the symptoms but not address issues of self-esteem, interpersonal relationships and family relationships -- all of which are part of recovery," said Jellinek, who analyzed Zito's study. In obsessive- compulsive disorder, for example, he said, "you can get a lot of benefit from behavioral treatments. If someone is getting medicines for OCD, I would like to see them be given a trial of behavioral therapy to see if that helps them and maybe decrease the medication."

 

Both Zito's study and Jellinek's analysis were published in the most recent issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

 

Susan Pisano, vice president of communications at the American Association of Health Plans, whose members provide managed care to about 160 million people, said the study did not address the quality of care the children received.

 

"The research doesn't say, 'There is a greater use of drugs and that's having a deleterious effect on children,' " she said. "It just says there is a greater use of drugs." Pisano said more analysis was needed to answer the quality question.

 

Zito agreed that her study could not determine whether the trend represented a growing awareness of mental illness or was evidence of over-medication and mistreatment. That is because she tracked medication records, not individual children. Without comprehensive studies that tracked the outcome of medication treatment of children, she and Jellinek said, it was difficult to say whether the children were getting the right treatment.

 

Noting that children are being medicated at almost the same rate as adults, Zito pointed out that few safety studies of the drugs have been done in children. Pharmaceutical companies largely do studies on adults to get new medicines approved or to show that one drug is superior to another.

 

Jellinek, who is also a professor of psychiatry at Harvard University, said insurance companies should be required to share data about the number of children getting comprehensive treatment in addition to those getting only medicine. Without such information, policymakers cannot independently evaluate whether the treatment is appropriate, he said.

 

Pamela Greenberg, executive director of the American Managed Behavioral Healthcare Association, which represents companies that cover mental health services to about 110 million Americans, said criticizing the insurance industry for the trend is wrong.

 

"I don't believe providers are saying, 'We will just provide a medication because that's going to be the highest profit margin for me,' " she said. Besides raising ethical issues, she said, inadequate treatment could result in a child continuing to be sick. "A sick patient from the economic standpoint still costs you money and could end up in the hospital."

 

Greenberg said the industry might be willing to make some of its internal information public, so long as it was to a national authority that could properly interpret the data.

 

David Fassler, a psychiatrist at the University of Vermont at Burlington who has testified on children's mental health issues on Capitol Hill for the American Psychiatric Association, said parents should push for comprehensive evaluations of children who develop psychiatric symptoms.

 

Such evaluations, he said, may entail several sessions with professionals, reviewing a child's developmental history and school records, analyzing the child's functioning at school and with friends and family, and having mental health professionals spend time with children and families.

 

"You can't do that evaluation in a 5-10 minute office visit," he said. "The reality of contemporary pediatric practice makes it difficult to devote the time necessary to do a full and comprehensive evaluation."

 

Source: Washington Post (DC)

[Ferre]

These psichiatrix are sorry sick basterds giving stuff like prozac to kids and really are in the believe this combined with therapy is giving positive results!

 

they get "results" allright,..inmediatly seen too I guess. offcourse when you give downers, tranquilisers or speed to kids, that's what the so called "medication" is.

Sorry,..but this really pisses me off. :angry:

[boulder]

Totally agree with u tboat.

[Guest Urbanhog]

Yeah argee with you too t-boat, I mean so what if kids goes thru some stages of "depression" I mean I have been "depressed" now and then during my childhood and teenagers years, so what? there's no big drama to worry about it, I am sure its all part of growing up I mean our bodies changes and the hormones goes crazy when you reach puberty, and of course you will have mixed feelings like all teenagers do, even me too!

 

But when I think about it now about the past when I was teenager, I thought it was normal part of growing up and learning more about our bodies, mind and emotions, but I wouldn't need any drugs to keep me "artificially happy" just because my body/mind was going thru stages of somewhat "depression".

 

Just because these kids are "having problems and are depressed and having attention problems" so what, it doesnt mean they need drugs to "cover up their "symptoms".... how can kids learn more about themselves if they are pumped up on pills?

 

But kids with serious mental illness like schizophrenia, obsessive- compulsive disorder, etc etc... maybe do need some kind of drugs to help with their treatments, but I have no idea, I am just sitting on the fence on this one, on no one's side.

 

I think parents are just simply over-reacting then doctors over-react, then psychiatrists over react and make so called "expert reports" and pump them full of drugs. Often Kids have no say about their feelings, these doctors just makes the choices for them, based on their "expertise" bullshit.

 

Even there's been reported studies that doctors mistaken their diagnois that kids need drugs for their symptoms, maybe the doctors need to look into their diet because there's so much chemicals in processed foods and drinks these days and can make the kids very hyperactive, very down, etc... specially these food colourings in drinks can be harmful to some kids and they can give the "symptoms" of a medicial condition but in fact its just a chemical reaction from their drinks and foods, I am only talking about small percentage not all kids in Australia.

 

Urbanhog http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/contrib/sp/chefico.gif

[Guest bacchus]

Even there's been reported studies that doctors mistaken their diagnois that kids need drugs for their symptoms, maybe the doctors need to look into their diet because there's so much chemicals in processed foods and drinks these days and can make the kids very hyperactive, very down, etc... specially these food colourings in drinks can be harmful to some kids and they can give the "symptoms" of a medicial condition but in fact its just a chemical reaction from their drinks and foods, I am only talking about small percentage not all kids in Australia.

 

Urbanhog http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/contrib/sp/chefico.gif

good point urbanhog....

 

when i was at school, particulalry in primary school and early high school, canteen workers had a 'black list" for kiddies who weren't allowed to have too many preservatives or colourings or sugars...there was even a list for kids who weren't allowed to drink red cordial...if they did they went loopy...i also had a cousin who was thrown on the drugs as a child for his hyperactivity and depression...after a long period of being dependant on them, a family friend persuaded his parents to take him of the medication and change his diet, removing as many preservatives and colours as possible..hey presto...normal, healthy boy...

i'm not saying that children do not suffer genuine psychological orders/conditions...just wanted to share my personal experience

[Guest Urbanhog]

Interesting Bacchus....

 

funny enough my high school didn't have a "blacklist" in Hobart, Tasmania, the "Tucker Shop" sold raspberry softdrinks, cordials, many many lollies, sweets, and these products made a nice profit for the school, strangely my school was one of the worst in Hobart for high rates of behavioural problems and absenteeism rates, and we had this detention room called "Time Out Room" if you broke any rule at school the teacher will give you a "Red Card" and take you to the "Time Out Room" and you will be forced to sit on a chair and desk faced to the wall, and you weren't allowed to read, write, do your homework, or even mutter a word to anyone in the room, and if you wanted to go to the toliet, you had to put your hand up and ask nicely and the teacher will follow you to the toliet and even go inside the toliet "to just keep a eye on you" all you do just sit and stare at the wall for hour to up to half a day depending on the "seriousness" of your troubles.

 

The system was hopeless, they had so many rules, and rules were designed to be broken....

 

Makes me wonder if the Tucker Shop's foods caused some troubles for the students???

 

Thank god I escaped out of Tasmania.....

 

Urbanhog http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/contrib/sp/chefico.gif

[Guest bacchus]

maybe the food was a contributing factor...tough to get school canteens and tuckshops to change their stock when they are such big revenue raisers for the schools...

 

as for tasmania...well you are in sunny brisvegas now aren't you....enjoy....i was there few a few years not so long ago...great place to live...

[wall]

better diagnosis of mental illness in children,

"There are fewer options other than medication,"

Most psychiatrists say that a combination of psychotherapy and medication often provides the best treatment

possibly as a way to restrain difficult children.

"If we are using drugs to control behavior, that doesn't change the underlying problem if someone doesn't know how to get along with their peers."

"The medicine may help the symptoms but not address issues of self-esteem, interpersonal relationships and family relationships -- all of which are part of recovery,"

http://www.jamezbrown.com/mysmilies/cwm/cwm/uhoh3.gif

Enough Quoting for now but, IMO YOU have to live the life to COMMENT.Most of these studies are done by so called PROFESSIONALS who have not lived this EXPERIENCE, SO THEIR opinion is BIASED in our BOOKS.

Everyone has an opinion and WE will Respect that,and we will gladly explain to any one our situation regarding this issue,and YES we do have a child on MEDICATION.

Regards us W's.

PS. WE do not agree with ANTI-DEPRESSANTS prescribed by doctors for any child (except under severe TRAUMATIC conditions)

Edited January 16, 2003 by wall

[Tom]

The red cordial syndrome has been known about for many years, it actually extends to all the synthetic "coal tar" based colourings and many children are affected by this and other food dyes and additives, this has been known about for many years but the food companies won't give them up because bright colours sell to kids and the government seems to ignore the problem, probably due to some sort of deal. The colouring used in red cordial (ingredient 127 on the label) was also listed as a carcinogenic by UK and US government health authorities back in the 1990's.

 

I looked into this several years back when I linked my children’s bouts of bad behaviour to their exposure to lollies and cordials, I have since noticed that many kids have this reaction, plus the sugar addiction that takes them back for more.

 

http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/contrib/ruinkai/coolgleamA.gif http://64.207.13.28/mysmilies/otn/glasses/smokin.gif

[pipeman]

the problem is that relatively speaking Doctors don't know shit. Any well grounded knowledgable Doctor will tell you this. So a lot of medicine is based on trial and error, and ultimately common sense. There are a lot of drugs prescribed that no one really understands why they help with certain conditions, but since the results are positive, their use is justified. Basically, keep trying things until you find a solution, but I think its misguided to form opinions in general based on specific personal experiences. At the end of the day Doctors would see hundreds of cases with successes/failures for different treatments as opposed to the very few examples the average person would come across in their life, so I think its foolish to disregard that.