To describe the relationship between mental health diagnosis and treatment with antipsychotics among Medicaid‐enrolled children over time.
Data Sources/Study Setting
edicaid nalytic xtract () files for 50 states and the istrict of olumbia from 2002 to 2007.
Repeated cross‐sectional design. Using logistic regression, outcomes of mental health diagnosis and filled prescriptions for antipsychotics were standardized across demographic and service use characteristics and reported as probabilities across age groups over time.
Center for edicaid ervices data extracted by means of age, ‐9 codes, service use intensity, and ational rug lassification codes.
Antipsychotic use increased by 62 percent, reaching 354,000 youth by 2007 (2.4 percent). Although youth with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism proportionally were more likely to receive antipsychotics, youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder () and those with three or more mental health diagnoses were the largest consumers of antipsychotics over time; by 2007, youth with accounted for 50 percent of total antipsychotic use; 1 in 7 antipsychotic users were youth with as their only diagnosis.
In the context of safety concerns, disproportionate antipsychotic use among youth with nonapproved indications illustrates the need for more generalized efficacy data in pediatric populations.
