Psychotropic Medication in Children and Adolescents in Germany: Prevalence, Indications, and Psychopathological Patterns

Abstract

The indication for antipsychotics was mostly behavioral symptomatology, while antidepressants were used for a wide variety of symptoms. The high proportion of children and adolescents using psychotropic medication with normal scores in the emotional and behavioral screening was remarkable. It cannot be determined whether in these cases low scores were related to improvement in symptoms or whether medication was being misused.

Psychotropic Medication Use in French Children and Adolescents

“…France no longer reimburses herbal drugs and the present study did not include herbal products. However, previous studies have shown that one third of the psychotropic drugs were herbal (Sevilla-Dedieu and Kovess-Masfety 2008), which is similar to reports from Germany (Koelch et al 2009), indicating that hypnotics/sedatives were mostly Valerian-based and prescribed for use during short periods of time. Nonetheless, it is very likely that in France, where any prescribed drug will be reimbursed in full, and where access to physicians is free of charge, most of the drugs aimed at calming children or adolescents will be medically prescribed rather than being acquired and purchased over the counter.…”

Unmet needs in paediatric psychopharmacology: Present scenario and future perspectives

“…extent, in several EU countries (Rani et al, 2008;Kalverdijk et al, 2008). With the possible exception of psychostimulants, this increase in prescription rates pertains mostly to the off-label use of second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (Koelch et al, 2009). Country-specific practices may underlie these trends: in Canada, prescriptions of antipsychotics to youngsters (frequently off-label) are disproportionately higher among general practitioners than among psychiatrists (Murphy et al, 2013), whereas in Germany hospital-based specialists prescribe significantly more antidepressants offlabel compared to general practitioners (Dörks et al, 2013).…”

Psychopharmakologisches Wissen für die pädiatrische Praxis

“…Hinsichtlich der AP ist diese Indikation sicher der häufigste Grund für Verordnungen -mit steigender Tendenz und oft als Off-Label-Einsatz [19,24,31,32]. In der Population des Kinder-und Jugendgesundheitssurvey des Robert Koch-Instituts (KiGGS) lag die 7-Tage-Prävalenz für Antipsychotika bei 1,09/1000 (95%-Konfidenzintervall: 0,67-1,78; [19]). Der "behavioural use" erklärt, warum deutlich mehr Jungen AP einnehmen als Mädchen.…”

“…OTC-Präparate (OTC: "over the counter") freiverkäuflich erworben. Typisch sind Baldrian-und Gingko-biloba-Präpa-rate zur Beruhigung und Schlafeinleitung [19]. Zur Behandlung des ADHS ist neben homöopathischen Ansätzen, wie etwa mit Sulfur, Lycopodium oder Phosphor, ein pflanzliches Komplexpräparat (aus Chamomilla Dil.…”

“…D6) erhältlich. Auch diese Präpa-rate werden oft in Selbstmedikation verwendet [19]. Johanniskraut wird häufig an Minderjährige verordnet bzw.…”