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Psychostimulant prescribing trends in a paediatric population in Ireland: a national cohort study

Fiona Boland1, Rose Galvin2,3, Udo Reulbach4,5

  • 1HRB Centre for Primary Care Research, Department of General Practice, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland. fionaboland@rcsi.ie.

BMC Pediatrics
|September 12, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Psychostimulant prescribing in Irish children and adolescents significantly increased from 2002 to 2011, with costs rising substantially. Further research is needed on combined psychotropic medication use in this demographic.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric pharmacology
  • Public health surveillance
  • Health economics

Background:

  • International trends show rising psychotropic medication use in children.
  • This study investigates psychotropic prescribing patterns in Irish youth.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the prevalence and secular trends of psychotropic prescribing in Irish children and adolescents.
  • To analyze associated costs and concomitant medication use.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the Irish General Medical Services (GMS) pharmacy claims database (2002-2011).
  • Calculated prescribing rates per 1000 population by age group and gender.
  • Examined concomitant prescriptions and total expenditure on psychotropic medications.

Main Results:

  • Psychostimulant prescriptions increased from 3.77 to 8.63 per 1000 population between 2002 and 2011.
  • Methylphenidate was the most common psychostimulant; use was highest in 12-15 year olds.
  • Total expenditure on these medications rose from €89,254 to €1,532,016.

Conclusions:

  • Significant increase in psychostimulant prescribing rates and costs observed in Irish youth.
  • Concomitant use of psycholeptics (8%) and antidepressants (2%) noted.
  • Further research is essential to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and economic impact of combined psychotropic prescribing.
Abstract

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