Kids Get Psychiatric Drugs Too Often
The above headline is from the October 21, 2001 issue of the USA Today
newspaper. The opening sentence from the article makes the statement,
"Doctors are increasingly prescribing psychiatric drugs such
as Ritalin and Prozac to preschoolers, despite questions about safety and
effectiveness."
Child psychiatrist Glen Elliott of the University of California Medical
School in San Francisco, spoke at the American Academy of Pediatrics
meeting in San Francisco and said, "Every pressure I'm aware of is
pushing toward more use of these pills in young kids, and the potential
for problems is huge." He goes on to explain, "HMOs are
encouraging quick diagnoses, working parents often can't be home to
enforce structured behavior-improvement programs, and everyone seems to
want quick fixes."
The concern about usage of these drugs has been growing following a
recent report that showed that Ritalin use more than tripled in
preschoolers between 1991 and 1995, and prescriptions for antidepressants
doubled in that age group during the same period. Dr. Marsha Rappley,
a pediatrician at Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine in
East Lansing states that one of the concerns are side effects, which can
range from mild to significant. Problems that can occur include
headaches, stomach aches, sleep problems and loss of appetite.
Additionally there is very little research on safety and effectiveness in
kids under 4.
Dr. Elliott worries about the long-term dangers of prescribing drugs
such as Prozac to small children. "Antidepressants change how brain
chemicals work, and permanent changes might result from kids taking such
drugs since we know a lot of brain development is still going on at this
young age."
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