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American children take anti-psychotic medicines at about six times the rate of children in the United Kingdom, according to a comparison based on a new UK study.
Does it mean US kids are being over-treated? Or that UK 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 US and UK children, research suggests.
Among the most commonly used drugs were those to treat autism and hyperactivity.
In the UK 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.
The study was released yesterday in the May edition of the journal Pediatrics.
By contrast, an earlier US study found that nearly 45 American children out of 10,000 used the drugs in 2001 versus more than 23 per 10,000 in 1996.
Big difference
There are big differences that could help explain the vastly higher US rate.
A recent report in The Lancet suggested that the UK's health care system limits prescribing practices there. The report also said direct-to-consumer ads are more common in the US. These ads raise consumer awareness and demand for medication.
While drug company ties with doctors are common in both the US and UK, Vanderbilt University researcher Wayne Ray said UK physicians generally are more conservative about prescribing psychiatric drugs. Ray co-authored the US study, published in 2004.
The new UK study, involving 1992-2005 health records of more than 16,000 children, is the first large examination of these drugs in UK children. It found the increase was mostly in medicines that have not been officially approved for kids.
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