young children on psychiatric drugs

12-10-15     The data did not indicate the condition for which these prescriptions were written.  Doctors are generally free to prescribe any medication for any purpose they see fit, so some drugs can occasionally be used in unproven and debatable ways.  But the volume and rapid rise in psychotropics such as antipsychotics and antidepressants in children 2 and younger suggest a trend. ...
  Prozac is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for depression in children 8 and older and for obsessive compulsive disorder in those age 7 and older....

  The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the American Academy of Neurology have no guidelines or position statements regarding use of antidepressants and antipsychotics in children younger than 3.

  Finding specific examples of such children taking the drugs can be difficult, because of family privacy concerns or because the practice remains controversial. IMS Health records but does not release the names of prescribing physicians. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/us/psychiatric-drugs-are-being-prescribed-to-infants.html

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  The following information is the most accurate and documented data available on psychiatric drug usage in the United States.  The information is from IMS Health, a company that provides information, services and technology for the healthcare industry.  It is the largest vendor of U.S. physician prescribing data.  The following data was taken from IMS Health Vector One National database Year 2013, Extracted April 2014. 

Drug Class:            Age Group:          Number of
                                                                   People:

All Psychiatric       0-5 Years               1,080,168
Drugs

Breakdown:
0-1 Years                274,804
2-3 Years                370,778
4-5 Years                500,948

6-12 Years             4,130,340
13-17 Years           3,617,593

Grand Total           0-17 Years               8,389,034 kids on psychiatric drugs

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ADHD Drugs          0-5 Years                188,899

Breakdown:
0-1 Years                1,422
2-3 Years                10,413
4-5 Years                181,023

6-12 Years             2,723,126
13-17 Years           1,775,896

Grand Total           0-17 Years               4,404,360 kids on ADHD Drugs

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Antidepressants  0-5 Years                 110,516

Breakdown:
0-1 Years               26,406
2-3 Years               46,102
4-5 Years               45,822

6-12 Years            686,950
13-17 Years          1,444,422

Grand Total          0-17 Years               2,165,279 kids on antidepressants

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Antipsychotics     0-5 Years                 27,343

Breakdown:
0-1 Years                654
2-3 Years                3,760
4-5 Years                24,363

6-12 Years             359,882
13-17 Years           490,272

Grand Total           0-17 Years               830,836 kids on antipsychotics

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Anti-anxiety           0-5 Years                   727,304

Breakdown:
0-1 Years                  227,132
2-3 Years                  282,759
4-5 Years                  247,754

6-12 Years               790,149
3-17 Years             650,273

Grand Total             0-17 Years               2,132,625 kids on anti-anxiety drugs

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SOURCE: IMS, Vector One: National (VONA) and Total Patient Tracker (TPT) Database, Year 2013, Extracted April 2014.     https://www.cchrint.org/psychiatric-drugs/children-on-psychiatric-drugs/

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5-17-18   https://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/faith-and-morals/item/29068-major-league-baseball-caves-in-to-gay-pride
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