OT - UPI - Psychotropic use in teens skyrocketed

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Psychotropic use in teens skyrocketed

UPI

Jan. 3, 2006

Psychotropic drug prescriptions for adolescents jumped 250

percent between 1994 and 2001, according to a new study.

The adolescent prescriptions increased sharply after 1999, when

direct-to-consumer advertising was permitted and restrictions on

promotion of off-label use were relaxed, reveals the study, which

appears in the journal Psychiatric Services. The study in one of the

first to track prescription trends in teens.

" There is an alarming increase in prescribing these drugs to

teens, and the reasons for this trend need further scrutiny, " said

the study's lead author, Parks of Brandeis

University. " Our study suggests a number of factors may be

particularly important to assess, including the impact of direct-to-

consumer advertising and other marketing strategies. "

Psychotropic drugs are generally prescribed for treatment of

ADHD, depression and other mood disorders, but few of the medications

in this class are approved for use in children under 18.

Although other factors may account for some of the increase in

adolescent prescriptions, the researchers note pharmaceutical

companies increased their expenditures on television advertising six

fold, to $1.5 billion, between 1996 and 2000.