A cross-sectional study of recent patterns of psychotropic medication use in children and adolescents in Ireland

There has been a global rise in prescribing of psychotropic medications. Variations in patterns of use, according to age, gender and drug class type, have also been reported.

This study aimed to analyse patterns of psychotropic medication use in Ireland according to age group, gender and drug class type, to determine if variations exist, and identify specific nuances to be addressed in future research.

A retrospective, repeated, cross-sectional study of the Irish pharmacy claims database (community setting dispensing data) was conducted. Yearly prevalence of children/adolescents receiving dispensed psychotropic medications was analysed from January 2017 to December 2021, across years, age groups (5-15, 5-11 and 12-15 years), gender and drug class type. All available data were used. Yearly prevalence was the mean number of patients receiving medication per month per 1000 eligible population during a given year. Negative binomial regression was used to examine association of year, age group and gender on prevalence.

In the 12-15 years group, prevalence for all selected psychotropic medications in 2021 in males was almost twice that in females (19.92/1000 vs 10.62/1000). In the 5-11 years group, prevalence was three times higher in males than females (7.56/1000 vs 2.49/1000). Overall, there was a higher rate of increase in females and higher usage in older children.

This study found variations in psychotropic medication use in children/adolescents, depending on age, gender and drug class type. Further research is needed to determine whether variations have resulted in treatment disparities for certain cohorts.