Use of antipsychotics in children

Over the 2004 through 2008 period, total second-generation antipsychotic prescriptions grew 33 percent from 6.9 million to 9.2 million; second-generation antipsychotic prescriptions for patients under age 18 also increased, but at a slightly slower rate: 24-percent increase from 1.0 million to 1.2 million prescriptions. One-third of patients under age 18 who are prescribed second-generation antipsychotics use them for the treatment of affective psychoses, primarily bipolar disorder (34%). Other common uses for second-generation antipsychotics include hyperkinetic syndrome (12%), pervasive developmental disorders (10%), emotional disorders of children/adolescents (10%), and conduct disturbance (7%). A discussion of the data is provided.