Psychotropic medication in children: a study from the Netherlands

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.