Use of behavioral drug treatment soars in children, young adults
More kids than ever are taking prescription medications on a regular basis, while the use of behavioral drug treatments is skyrocketing in young adults, according to a report released this week by Medco Health Solutions, a pharmaceutical benefits manager.
Overall prescription drug spending for children jumped 10.8% in 2009, a figure that includes both higher utilization and higher prices. It was four times the rise seen in the general population.
One in four insured children and 30% of adolescents took at least one medication to treat a chronic condition last year.
The most substantial increases were seen in the use of antipsychotic, diabetes and asthma drugs over the past nine years, Medco said in a news release on Thursday.
“While H1N1 caused a spike in antiviral use among children last year, the far more alarming trend since the beginning of the decade is the increasing use of medications taken by children on a regular basis and in some cases, for conditions that we don’t often associate with youth, such as type 2 diabetes,” said Dr. Robert Epstein, Medco’s chief medical officer and president of the Medco Research Institute.
“The fact that one-in-three adolescents are being treated for a chronic condition points to the need for additional health education and lifestyle changes that can address the obesity issue that is likely a driving force behind such conditions as type 2 diabetes and even asthma.”
Behavioral drug treatments continued to rise in children, with 13.2% of drug benefit dollars spent on medication for ADHD. But young adults age 20-34 saw the biggest jump — 21.2% in the use of behavioral medications.
“Atypical antipsychotics are extremely powerful drugs that are being used far too commonly - especially in children - given their safety issues and side effects,” said Dr. David Muzina, a specialist in mood disorders and national practice leader of the Medco Therapeutic Resource Center for Neuroscience.
“We’re seeing them prescribed for a number of different conditions including depression and anxiety for which there is not good evidence that they are an effective treatment and yet we’re exposing children to the possibility of extreme weight gain that could lead to a host of health problems including diabetes.”
To download the full version of the 2010 Drug Trend Report, click here.