Is America Overmedicating Its Children?

The United Nations reported in 1999 that the United States produces and consumes approximately 85 percent of the world's methylphenidate (a component in attention deficit medications). According to IMS Health, the number of prescriptions in America has increased to 3.5 billion over the past decade. This is in addition to the nonprescription drugs that Americans consume. However, American adults are not the only ones taking medication cocktails. Research indicates that children as young as three and four years old are also included in these statistics.

Children and Behavioral Medications

One diagnosis that has increased dramatically within the last decade is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). According to a study published in the June 2006 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, there was an increase of more than five percent in the use of antipsychotic drugs to treat children and adolescents from 1993 to 2002. Sales of methylphenidate remained stable prior to 1999. However, sales went up by almost 500 percent by 1999. Additionally, sales of amphetamine (also used in the treatment of ADHD) increased by 2,000 percent in a nine year period.

Many professionals in education and even in healthcare believe that if a child or adolescent cannot concentrate, he automatically has an attention deficit disorder (ADD). They ignore the fact that upsetting events in a person's life (including a child's life) can affect the concentration level. Factors that could affect a child's concentration are: if the child is preoccupied with a family problem, if he's being bullied, or does not get enough sleep. Additionally, every person and child learns differently. Some children may need more personal attention than others need, or require a different method of teaching. All these factors could make a child appear to be ADD or ADHD and fall behind in class. However, is medication necessarily the answer or a quick fix?

Children and Antidepressants

A second area where prescriptions are on the increase is depression in children and adolescents. Approximately 5 percent of adolescents suffer from major depressive disorder (MDD). However, a study by Express Scripts Inc, revealed that the use of antidepressants increased by 49 percent between 1998 and 2002. It's interesting that this increase took place among consumers younger than 18 years of age. The study also revealed that the fastest-growing users of prescription antidepressants were preschoolers up to age 5. This increase took place in spite of the fact that the only medication approved by the FDA to treat depression in children ages 8 and older is Fluoxetine (Prozac). Other antidepressants or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), also not approved by the FDA for children, are prescribed by some doctors.

Once again, could there be other underlying reasons for the depression? In an era where families are under stress from all angles, could it be that children are also feeling the effects? Will eliminating the root cause get rid of the depression? Possibly, but this would require time and communication on the part of the parents, as well as education and healthcare professionals.

Children and Bipolar Disorder

A third area where children are often misdiagnosed and possibly overmedicated is children with bipolar disorder. Studies conducted in the 70s and 80s indicated that children rarely developed bipolar disorder. However, a decade later, about one million children suffer from this disorder. According to Dr. Joseph Biederman, professor at Harvard and head of child psychopharmacology at Mass General Hospital, the average age for the onset of bipolar in children is approximately four. He further stated, "It's solidly in the preschool years." On the other hand, Dr. John McClellan who runs a children's psychiatric hospital in Washington state, says that his hospital is filled with children who have been misdiagnosed as bipolar. According to him, the term bipolar has become a "catchall for aggressive and troubled children."

Children's brains are still developing in the preschool years. No one knows for sure the effect that a cocktail of medications could have on them. Add to this the possibility that the physician may be overmedicating that child and the result could be disastrous. Additionally, a child that is depressed and does not receive encouragement or support from family members or other professionals, yet receives a prescription for depression or any other disorder, that child could be overmedicated.

In conclusion, the answer to whether America is overmedicating its children depends on each individual case. No doubt, some children and adolescents have benefited from taking medication for various disorders. Nevertheless, when a physician makes a diagnosis and gives a prescription in 5 or 10 minutes, then perhaps the answer is yes. There is an abundance of information and studies available for each person to make an educated conclusion and provide an answer to the question, Is America overmedicating its children?