Kids And Drugs

H.S. For Sunday 100508

Hey folks,

In the Health and Science Segment this week, we are going to look at something that should both scare and alert Parents out there as to the reality of kids and drugs.

This is something that I have talked about before and something that our friend DR. Laura brings up often on her Radio Show. Psychology is a business. Just like any other business, it needs more and more products to sell. Big Drug companies, need more and more "customers."

It is bad enough that adults have to suffer at the hands of those that are quick to "diagnose" them with mental problems, and are drugged out of their minds, but when we are talking about kids, it is that much worse.

I think I have told this story before. But a friend of mine has a beautiful 16 year old Daughter. Normally she is a bubbly, happy, little red head girl. That is until she takes her meds. You see, she has been diagnosed with a "disorder." So, instead of attempting to work with her and teach her how to deal with this or that, she gets drugged. When she is on her meds, she is a zombie. Staring into space. She does not even hear you when you say something to her. I hate this, but I'm not the parent and I do not even see them anymore. Seems that she is not alone. According to Reuters - More U.S. than European kids take mental health meds By Anne Harding
Fri Oct 3, 11:31 AM ET

US children are substantially more likely to be prescribed drugs for mental conditions than their peers in the Netherlands and Germany, new research shows.

The findings raise questions about treatment of mental health issues among US children that should be answered, Dr. Julie M. Zito of the University of Maryland in Baltimore, the study's lead author, told Reuters Health.

"We don't know if the big numbers are good and the small numbers are bad or the reverse," she said in an interview.

What's more, Zito added, data on the safety and effectiveness of these drugs in kids remains sparse. "We have almost no information on outcomes in children in the community."

More and more children are taking these so-called psychotropic medications, with the most common being stimulants, antidepressants, and antipsychotics, Zito and her team write in the online journal Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health. They looked at the rates of use of these medications in children in the three countries to better understand the influence of regulations, clinical practices and social factors.

The researchers reviewed 2000 data on 110,944 people aged 0 to 19 in the Netherlands, 356,520 young people in Germany, and 127,157 in the US. All had health insurance.

US children were the most likely to be medicated, with 6.7% taking a prescription psychotropic, compared to 2.9% of Dutch youngsters and 2% of Germans.

American kids were also more likely to be on multiple drugs; 19.2% of those who were taking the medications were taking two or more, compared to 8.5% of young people in the Netherlands and 5.9% of those in Germany.

Overall, the researchers found, young people in the US were at least three times as likely as those in Europe to be prescribed antidepressants or stimulant drugs and about twice as likely to be taking antipsychotic drugs.

The reasons behind the national differences remain unclear, Zito notes. "We think culture plays something of a role. Certainly American physicians have long been known to be more intensive in treatment protocols than Europeans," she said.

However, Zito added, psychiatric training and diagnostic practices in the US are very similar to those in Western Europe.

More research is needed, she said, to clarify guidelines for treatment of children taking psychotropic medications, to ensure that they are getting comprehensive care. If children's mental health problems are symptomatic of larger social issues in the US, Zito added, medication alone may not be the best way to deal with them.

SOURCE: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, online September 24, 2008.

No, no more research is needed. Just follow the money. If your kid seems a little hyper, take Dr. Laura's advice. Get them into Karate, or a sport of some sort. They seem depressed? Get them involved in something they enjoy. SPEND TIME WITH THEM! If there is some sort of life altering event, then perhaps they DO need someone to talk to, but really, most of the time they are just fine without the drugs. PLEASE think twice before you allow ANYONE to mess with your kids health and well being. Chances are, there is NOTHING wrong with them to begin with.
Peter

Sources:
Reuters - More U.S. than European kids take mental health meds