Lead author Julie Zito and her colleagues went through data on 600,000 persons under 19 years old, and found that seven percent of American children were taking such psychotropic drugs, This compared to 2.9 percent of the Dutch and 2.0 percent of German children. Among American children ages 5 to 9 years old, one in twelve was taking psychotropic drugs, among European children of the same ages, the rate was one in 48.
Zito said she believes that differences in culture, in the way behavioral disorders are classified, and in insurance and government reimbursements may account for the discrepancies. Other potential causes include the following: European drug companies are banned from advertising to consumers; the European diagnosis of hyperkinetic disorder has more stringent guidelines than the American equivalent of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; there are many more psychiatrists in the States; and some drugs were banned for European use during the course of the study.
This study appears in the journal BioMed Central.
Labels: drugs. antidepressants, stimulants
Posted By: Aspen Education Group