A new study reveals that there is a rise in the use of antipsychotic drugs among youth even without being diagnosed with a mental illness.
The study, which appeared in JAMA Psychiatry this week, was conducted by Mark Olfson from Columbia University in New York City and a team of researchers, who found that between 57% and 67% of young people up to the age of 24 who received antipsychotics had no mental disorder diagnosis, as reported in MedPage Today.
For the study, researchers looked at thousands of prescriptions and analyzed data from the IMS LifeLink LRx Longitudinal Prescription Database that runs between 2006 and 2010.
During this timeframe, the percentage of teens taking the drugs spiked, with those ages 13-18 having the highest recorded rates of usage. Specifically, around 1.19% of those children were taking the medication in 2010, compared to about 1.1% recorded in 2006.
On the other hand, the researchers found that there's a slight decline in the use of drugs among one- to 12-year-old kids since 2008, and researchers suggested that this could be due to safety concerns, according to The Washington Post.
Nevertheless, a majority of those children still take the drugs without being diagnosed with any mental illness.
In children with a diagnosis, however, researchers found that antipsychotic drugs are also being used to treat depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which are not listed as approved conditions.
The FDA approves the use of antipsychotics in teens and adolescents who have bipolar mania, schizophrenia and autism-related irritability, but not depression and ADHD. Still doctors prescribe these drugs for those conditions because they serve as a quick remedy.
When it comes to sex trends, the study found that males ages 13-18 are 1.5 times more likely to take antipsychotics compared to females. Furthermore, the study found that the greatest differences in these trends are found in younger children.
This trend is likely because antipsychotic drugs are also used to treat aggressive behaviors, which are found to be common in young men.
According to Olfson, the findings suggest that children and adolescents should have better access to psychiatric and psychosocial services. Olfson also said that there is a need for further research on appropriate medications for aggressive behaviors and ADHD.
