The number of children with at least one prescription for some of the most potent psychiatric drugs on the market increased about fourfold in the course of a decade, new Canadian research has found.
Appearing in this month’s issue of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, the study shows a “striking” increase in the rate of the prescribing of so-called second-generation or “atypical” antipsychotics to children aged seven and older. The most common diagnoses were for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorders.
While the data comes from the province of Manitoba, researchers suspect they reflect what’s occurring across the country and are urging doctors to be vigilant for serious adverse events, given the drugs’ “potential for significant harm.”