Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 21, 2026
Handwriting Analysis Indicates Spontaneous Dyskinesias in Neuroleptic Naïve Adolescents at High Risk for Psychosis
Published on: November 21, 2013
Psychotropic medication in children: a study from the Netherlands
1Groningen Institute for Drug Exploration (GUIDE), University of Groningen, University Centre for Pharmacy, Section of Social Pharmacy and Pharmacoepidemiology, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Insights
Psychotropic medication use in Dutch children is lower than in the US, but stimulant use is increasing. This rise in stimulant prescriptions mirrors trends seen in the United States, indicating a broader pattern.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric pharmacology
- Drug utilization studies
- Child and adolescent psychiatry
Background:
- Global concern exists regarding increased psychotropic agent use in children.
- Existing research primarily originates from the US, often using data from the mid-1990s.
- Few studies comprehensively document the use of diverse psychotropic agent types in pediatric populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate psychotropic medication utilization in children and adolescents in the Netherlands.
- To compare Dutch psychotropic drug use patterns with previously reported US figures.
- To analyze trends in the use of specific psychotropic agent classes.
Main Methods:
- A drug utilization study was conducted using computerized pharmacy dispensing records.
- The study period spanned from 1995 to 1999.
- The research focused on children aged 0 to 19 years in the northern Netherlands.
Main Results:
- Stimulants were the most prevalent psychotropic agents (7.4/1000 in 1999), followed by hypnotics/anxiolytics (6.9/1000) and antidepressants (4.4/1000).
- Prevalence of stimulant use significantly increased from 1.5/1000 in 1995 to 7.4/1000 in 1999.
- Most children (vast majority) received only one psychotropic agent concurrently.
Conclusions:
- The prevalence of stimulant use in the Netherlands is considerably lower than US figures from 1995 (28/1000).
- Differences were observed in the use of other psychotropic agents and their combinations compared to US data.
- The observed increase in Dutch stimulant use aligns with US trends, suggesting this is not a US-exclusive phenomenon.
Objective:
Although there is a global concern about the increased use of psychotropic agents in children, most research literature originates in the United States and is based on figures from the first half of the 1990s. Also, few studies document the use of various types of psychotropic agents. The objective of this study was to investigate the use of psychotropic medication in children in the Netherlands and to determine whether this corresponds with previously reported figures from the United States.
Methods:
A drug utilization study based on computerized pharmacy dispensing records was conducted from 1995 to 1999 for children aged 0 to 19 years in the north of the Netherlands.
Results:
Stimulants were the most widely used psychotropic agents among 0- to 19-year-olds (prevalence: 7.4/1000 in 1999), followed by hypnotics/anxiolytics (6.9/1000) and antidepressants (4.4/1000). Prevalence rates of stimulants increased from 1.5/1000 in 1995 to 7.4/1000 in 1999. Incidence rates, proportion of girls, and duration of stimulant treatment increased as well. Changes in prevalence rates of other psychotropic agents were much smaller than those of stimulants. Finally, the vast majority of children who were treated with psychotropic agents used only 1 agent at a time.
Conclusion:
The prevalence of stimulant use in the Netherlands is much lower than reported previously (28/1000 children in 1995) from the United States, and differences also existed with regard to the use of other psychotropic agents and combinations of psychotropic agents. However, the increase in Dutch stimulant use agrees with the previously reported 2.5-fold increase in the United States and shows that the increased use of stimulants is not limited to the United States.
More Related Videos
05:48The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
Published on: June 12, 2020
10:02Event Related Potentials (ERPs) and other EEG Based Methods for Extracting Biomarkers of Brain Dysfunction: Examples from Pediatric Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Published on: March 12, 2020
Related Concept Videos
01:28Psychosis and Antipsychotic Drugs: Overview
01:23Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Overview and Drug Absorption
01:17Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Distribution
01:24Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism
01:26Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion
01:28Drug Therapy
Antianxiety Medications