Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Young Canadian children are being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs

From the National Post:
Antipsychotics are being widely prescribed to children with behaviour and mood problems, with a significant proportion going to children under nine, new research shows.

Ninety-four per cent of 176 child psychiatrists in Canada surveyed are prescribing powerful drugs known as atypical antipsychotics for a variety of disorders and symptoms, including anxiety, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and "poor frustration tolerance."

While most prescriptions were for children 13 and older, a "surprising" number were for the very young: 12% of all prescriptions were for children aged eight or under, including three-year-olds. ...more

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