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National estimates of antidepressant medication use among U.S. children, 1997-2002

Benedetto Vitiello1, Samuel H Zuvekas1, Grayson S Norquist1

  • 1Dr. Vitiello is with the Child and Adolescent Treatment and Preventive Intervention Research Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD; Dr. Zuvekas is with the Division of Social and Economic Research, Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, Rockville, MD; and Dr. Norquist is with the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
|March 17, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric antidepressant use rose nationally from 1997 to 2002, primarily driven by adolescents using newer medications. Use stabilized in adolescents after 2000 and remained unchanged in younger children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Psychiatry
  • Public Health
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Antidepressant use in children under 18 increased threefold between 1987 and 1996.
  • Previous trends indicated a significant rise in pediatric antidepressant prescriptions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the national trends in pediatric antidepressant use from 1997 to 2002.
  • To identify demographic and medication-specific patterns in this usage.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) database from 1997-2002.
  • MEPS is a nationally representative survey of U.S. households.
  • Response rates for MEPS ranged from 64% to 68%.

Main Results:

  • Antidepressant use in children increased from 0.9 million in 1997 to 1.4 million in 2002.
  • The percentage of child users rose from 1.3% to 1.8%, with adolescents driving this increase.
  • Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and newer antidepressants accounted for the rise, while TCA use declined in younger children.

Conclusions:

  • Pediatric antidepressant use, particularly SSRIs, continued to rise in adolescents until 2000, then stabilized through 2002.
  • Antidepressant use remained stable in children younger than 13.
  • Usage patterns varied by age group, with adolescents showing the most significant changes.
Abstract

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