Health Alert 170
If you have young children or grandchildren you have probably heard of kids taking psychiatric drugs. America has fallen into the mind-trap of giving every behavior a diagnosis. A difficult “stage” in child development is now a diagnosis of a psychiatric abnormality.
Doctors gave 2.7 million antidepressants prescriptions to children 1 to 11 years old and 8.1 million to children 12 to 17 years old in 2002.1 Children with severe psychiatric disease may find no other solution. But using drugs to modify the behavior of our children is destructive and dangerous.
Today you’ll learn about a new FDA report on the dangers of using adult psychiatric medications to treat children. I’ll also tell you safer alternatives to treat behavioral problems in children.
* Prescription Overdosing *
In October 2003, 2 FDA committees had a joint meeting. They together wrote a report detailing the dangers of antidepressant use in children. The agency issued a health advisory to alert physicians of the risk of suicide:
“Many of the more than 60 people who testified during the open hearing were family members of children and adolescents and some adults who had committed suicide, attempted suicide, or committed homicidal acts while on antidepressant therapy. Several cases were in adolescents or young adults who unexpectedly committed suicide within weeks of starting the antidepressant, according to their families.”1
Although they have not been able to conclusively prove that antidepressants are the cause of suicide in children, they believe there is cause to extend a warning. The panel expects to investigate the connection further and reconvene in June.
In addition to possibly increasing the risk pf suicide, antidepressants can cause diarrhea, motor skill impairment and decreased autoimmune function.2 Suicide is already the 3rd leading cause of death among children age 10 to 14.3
Another study revealed that the drug Ritalin, so commonly prescribed for attention deficit disorder has many troublesome side effects, including:
• Insomnia
• Anorexia
• Stomachaches
• Headaches
• Tachycardia
• Anxiety
Part of the problem lies in the dosing of these medications for children. Dosing recommendations of adult medications are based on the average middle-aged man. Children, of course, will have a lower body weight and a higher metabolic rate. These are 2 critical factors in deciding dosage. Without clinical trials, doctors guess at the dose in children.
* Best Course of Treatment *
Children are experiencing more symptoms of depression and hyperactivity than just a decade ago. The rate of suicide among children under the age of 15 has increased 4 1/2 fold since 1953.4 There are several differences between the 10 year-old in 1953 and 2004’s 10-year-old. Today’s 10 year-old is less likely to have the benefit of a 2-parent home. If he comes from a 2-parent home, it is likely that both his parents work and that he spends more time with a TV than his parents.
Children often act out because they want an adult’s attention. If they don’t get positive attention they will explore the negative. Children need attentiveness, consistency, and boundaries. It is the child’s job to test these limits. When he does, the parent’s role is to reinforce the limits consistently. No small task, I know but no drug can substitute for “Parental Attention Deficit Disorder”.
If a child is exhibiting behavior that warrants medical intervention, prudence should be the rule. A behavioral problem in a child should be observed by a physician for a minimum of 6 months before labeling the child with a diagnosis. With due-diligence in the diagnosis process, we can prevent most medicating of children.
If your child does need behavioral modification assistance, there are many at home programs available to you and your child. Most of these programs center on an award and penalty system to modify behavior. Other programs assist you in helping your child recognize inappropriate behavior and more constructive ways of behaving. For more information, visit http://add.about.com/cs/behavioraltherapy/tp/toppickbehave.htm.
Al Sears, MD
1. Methcatie, Elizabeth. “Antidepressant Warnings Urged” Family Practice News, February 15, 2004: 1.
2. Ibid.
3. CNN.com “Poll finds sleep disorders on the rise in U.S.” April 1, 2002. http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/04/01/sleep.poll/index.html.
4. National Institute of Mental Health , Harms Way: Suicide in America: 2003. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/harmaway.cfm
5. CNN.com and Reuters. “U.S. children face high risk of violent death” February 7, 1997. http://www.cnn.com/US/9702/07/crime.children/index.html