Antipsychotic Use Rising Among Teens and Young Adults

A growing number of teens and young adults are being prescribed anti-psychotics, a new study suggests.

In particular, it appears they’re being used to treat attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – a condition for which the powerful drugs are not approved.

The percentage of teens using anti-psychotics rose from 1.10 percent in 2006 to 1.19 percent in 2010. Use among young adults ages 19 to 24 rose from 0.69 percent to 0.84 percent, the study found.

With roughly 74 million children under 18 in the U.S., these small percentages add up to large numbers of medicated kids.

“Great caution should be exercised in the use of anti-psychotics, especially for young children,” said lead study author Dr. Mark Olfson, a research psychiatrist at Columbia University in New York.

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