January 6, 2010

More Toddlers, Young Children Given Antipsychotics

By Kelley Luckstein

The rate of children aged 2 to 5 who are given antipsychotic medications has doubled in recent years, a new study has found.

 

Yet little is known about either the effectiveness or the safety of these powerful psychiatric medications in children this age, said researchers from Columbia University and Rutgers University, who looked at data on more than 1 million children with private health insurance…

 

Dr. Peter Jensen, co-director of the division of child psychiatry and psychology at the Mayo Clinic, agreed that the trend is concerning. "We have no doubt there are prescribing practices out there that are very, very worrisome," Jensen said.

 

HealthDay, by Jennifer Thomas, 1/5/09

 

Additional coverage:

Palm Beach Post

Tags: antipsychotics, Psychology and Psychiatry, toddlers

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