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Use of Antipsychotic Medications in Pediatric Populations: What do the Data Say?

  • Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders (SJ Siegel, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Psychiatry Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 03 January 2014

Abstract

Recent reports of antipsychotic medication use in pediatric populations describe large increases in rates of use. Much interest in the increasing use has focused on potentially inappropriate prescribing for non-Food and Drug Administration-approved uses and use amongst youth with no mental health diagnosis. Different studies of antipsychotic use have used different time periods, geographic and insurance populations of youth, and aggregations of diagnoses. We review recent estimates of use and comment on the similarities and dissimilarities in rates of use. We also report new data obtained on 11 health maintenance organizations that are members of the Mental Health Research Network in order to update and extend the knowledge base on use by diagnostic indication. Results indicate that most use in pediatric populations is for disruptive behaviors and not psychotic disorders. Differences in estimates are likely a function of differences in methodology; however, there is remarkable consistency in estimates of use by diagnosis.

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Acknowledgments

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (grant: U19MH092201). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Christine Stewart, Enid M. Hunkeler, Jeanne M. Madden, Rebecca C. Rossom, Christine Y. Lu, Frances L. Lynch, Beth E. Waitzfelder, Karen A. Coleman, and Gregory E. Simon have received research support from NIMH. John E. Zeber has received research support and support for travel from National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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Conflict of Interest

Robert B. Penfold has received research support from Bristol-Meyers Squibb, and NIMH.

Christine Stewart has received funding through NIMH.

Enid M. Hunkeler has patent applications pending for an individualized health care management system and a computer-implemented method for assisting a care partner in monitoring a patient with a chronic disease and has received funding through NIMH.

Jeanne M. Madden has received research support from NIH, FDA, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and NIMH.

Janet R. Cummings has received funding through NIMH.

Ashli A. Owen-Smith has received funding through NIMH.

Rebecca C. Rossom has received funding through NIMH.

Christine Y. Lu has received funding through NIMH.

Frances L. Lynch has received funding through NIMH.

Beth E. Waitzfelder has received funding through NIMH.

Karen A. Coleman has received research support from NIMH, NIH, and Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

Brian K. Ahmedani has received research support from NIMH.

Arne L. Beck and has received funding through NIMH.

John E. Zeber has received research support from VA Health Services Research & Development, the Commonwealth Fund, NIH and NIMH.

Gregory E. Simon has received research support from Bristol-Myers Squibb and NIMH.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Group Health Research Institute, 1730 Minor Ave., Suite 1600, Seattle, 98101, WA, USA

    Robert B. Penfold, Christine Stewart & Gregory E. Simon

  2. Department of Health Services Research, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Robert B. Penfold

  3. Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, Northern California, Oakland, CA, USA

    Enid M. Hunkeler

  4. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Research Institute, Boston, MA, USA

    Jeanne M. Madden & Christine Y. Lu

  5. Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Jeanne M. Madden & Christine Y. Lu

  6. Department of Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Janet R. Cummings

  7. Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research Southeast, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Ashli A. Owen-Smith

  8. Health Partners Institute for Education and Research, Bloomington, MN, USA

    Rebecca C. Rossom

  9. Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Rebecca C. Rossom

  10. Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, Northwest, Portland, OR, USA

    Frances L. Lynch

  11. Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Beth E. Waitzfelder

  12. Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, Southern California, Pasadena, CA, USA

    Karen A. Coleman

  13. Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, USA

    Brian K. Ahmedani

  14. Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Research, Colorado, Denver, CO, USA

    Arne L. Beck

  15. Center for Applied Health Research, Scott and White Healthcare and Central Texas VA, Temple, TX, USA

    John E. Zeber

  16. Department of Psychiatry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Gregory E. Simon

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  1. Robert B. Penfold
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  2. Christine Stewart
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  14. John E. Zeber
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  15. Gregory E. Simon
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert B. Penfold.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders

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Penfold, R.B., Stewart, C., Hunkeler, E.M. et al. Use of Antipsychotic Medications in Pediatric Populations: What do the Data Say?. Curr Psychiatry Rep 15, 426 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-013-0426-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-013-0426-8

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