Radojčić, et al. Trends in antipsychotic prescribing to children and adolescents in England: cohort study using 2000–19 primary care data. Lancet Psychiatry (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(22)00404-7

Findings in title from the linked summary released by the University of Manchester, 10 Jan. 2023:

>The proportion of children and adolescents prescribed antipsychotics in English general practice doubled from 0.06% to 0.11% between 2000 and 2019, find researchers at The University of Manchester’s Centre for Women’s Mental Health.

>The drugs, which have a tranquillising effect, are frequently used in adults to treat major mental illness, such as schizophrenia.

>However, they can be associated with substantial side-effects such as sexual dysfunction, infertility, and weight gain leading to diabetes.

> The National Institute for Clinical Excellence has approved the use of some antipsychotics in under 18’s with psychosis or with severely aggressive behaviour from conduct disorder.

>However the study, published in the Lancet Psychiatry, suggests they are prescribed for an increasingly broad range of reasons - the most common being autism.

>[The] increasing use of antipsychotics is a cause for concern, argue the researchers, given that their safety in children, who are still rapidly developing, has not been established.

> 

>Dr Matthias Pierce, senior research fellow at the University of Manchester’s Centre for Women’s Mental Health jointly lead the study.

>He said: “This study demonstrates a concerning trend in antipsychotic prescribing in children and adolescents. We do not think the changes in prescribing necessarily relate to changes in clinical need; rather, it may be more likely to reflect changes in prescribing practice by clinicians.

>“However, this study will help clinicians to evaluate the prescribing of antipsychotics to children more fully and will encourage them to consider better access to alternatives.”