18th Nov 2004
LONDON
(Reuters) - Doctors are prescribing more antidepressants for
children and adolescents although there is little evidence
about their safety or efficacy in youngsters, researchers
said on Thursday.
Prescription
rates for young patients under 18 years old rose in nine
countries in Europe, North America and South America between
2000-2002.
Britain had the highest rate of increase with 68 percent
while Germany, with 13 percent, had the lowest.
"The number of prescriptions in different countries for
children with mental illness is increasing," said Dr Ian
Wong of the Center for Pediatric Pharmacy Research at the
University of London.
Wong and his team compared prescribing trends in Britain,
France, Germany, Spain, Canada, the United States,
Argentina, Brazil and Mexico by using information from an
international database that contains a representative sample
of medical practitioners in each country.
The findings are reported in the Archives of Disease in
Childhood. Although Britain had the highest rate of
increase, it had a lower baseline than many other countries
in the study.
"In England, the number of prescriptions per child for that
kind of illness is actually 10 times lower than in America.
When you have a very low baseline the increase is much
quicker," Wong explained.
He believes the results of the study show a growing
awareness of depression and mental illness in young people.
But he added that if the trend continues it could be
worrying because there are so few clinical trails of drugs
in children.
Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline Plc was accused in a lawsuit by
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer earlier this year of
fraudulently suppressing information about its
antidepressant Paxil, which is sold as Seroxat in Europe,
that showed the drug was broadly ineffective in youngsters
and could increase the risks of suicidal behavior.
The company denied the allegation and responded by
publishing the results of nine pediatric trials on its Web
site.
"We believe the use of psychotropic medications in children
is a global public health issue, which should be studied in
partnership with pharmaceutical companies, governments and
researchers," Wong and his colleagues said.
SOURCE: Archives of Disease in Childhood.