More children on prescription drugs, study

More U.S. children are taking prescription drugs for the treatment of asthma, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and other chronic diseases, according to a new study.

The study, which appears in the November issue of the journal Pediatrics, looked at data from Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefits management company that supplies prescription drugs to more than 1,300 health plans insuring more than 50 million members.

The study found that between 2002 to 2005 prescriptions for drugs for the treatment of diabetes type 2 doubled for children aged 5 to 19. 

The increase was driven by a 166% increase among girls aged 10 to 14 and 133% among girls 15 to 19.

Prescriptions for asthma drugs rose 46%; for attention-deficit disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder rose 40%; and for high cholesterol, 15%.

“Rates of growth were dramatically higher among girls than boys for type 2 antidiabetics (147% vs 39%), attention-deficit disorder and attention-deficity/hyperactivity disorder medications (63% vs 33%), and antidepressants (7% vs -4%),” the researchers report.

Overall, there was little growth in the use of antidepressants and antihypertension drugs.

The lead author of the paper was Emily R. Cox, Ph.D, who works at Express Scripts, Inc, and was done with collaborators from the Pediatric Research Institute at St. Louis University, and the Kansas Health Institute in Topeka.

The study does not explain why more U.S. children are on these drugs, but a number of factors could be in play. The prevalence of some conditions, such as diabetes and asthma, may, in fact, be on the rise.

And better screening by physicians may mean more children with these and other conditions are being identified. 

Also, more drugs have now been tested and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Agency (FDA) for use in children, making doctors more comfortable about prescribing them.

It is not clear, however, why the increase in the use of drug therapy seems to be growing faster among girls than boys. 

More research needs to be done to understand these trends in prescribing, the researchers conclude. “Although drug therapy is effective for treating many chronic conditions in children, the risk of inappropriate use also exists.’

To learn more:

• Read the paper from the journal Pediatrics.
• Visit the National Library of Medicines Drug, Supplements & Herbal Information page, where you can look up information about individual drugs, supplements and herbal products from an alphabetical listing.

Tags: ADD, ADHD, Pediatrics

Category: Asthma, Child & Youth Health, Diabetes, Drugs & Medicines, Heart & Circulation