Does your child take psych meds? You’re not alone.

Did you take your pills today? Did your kids? Where do you live?

A recent study, led by Julie Zito of the pharmaceutical health services research department in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Maryland, reports that if your child lives in the United States, he or she is three times more likely to be prescribed psychotropic medications for conditions such as attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and bipolar disorder than children in Europe.

The study compared psychotropic (stimulant, antipsychotic and antidepressant medication and any psychotropic) drug use among young people aged 0-19 years from the Netherlands, Germany, and the United States.  Rather than spit out a bunch of information from the study, I strongly suggest that if a child you care about is taking psych meds, that you read it.

There is interesting data included about which drugs are commonly prescribed where, and where drugs commonly prescribed in the U.S. are not allowed. (For example, amphetamines are not allowed to be prescribed in France, Spain, or Italy.)

There is also information on differences in diagnostic classifications (ADHD, bipolar disorder, conduct disorder) between the three countries studied, and well as a look at why the differences in prescribing are taking place and which type of specialist is doing the prescribing..

An interesting article about the study can be found at Business Week.

It gives us all something to think about.