May 18, 2004 - Vol. 2 , No. 20
Science in the News Weekly is a weekly digest of science news stories appearing in the mainstream media. It is produced every Tuesday morning as part of Sigma Xi's public understanding of science program area, in conjunction with American Scientist magazine.
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In This Issue
Spending Reflects Popularity of Children's Behavior-Disorder Drugs
For the first time, spending on drugs for behavior disorders in children has eclipsed that for asthma medications and antibiotics.
The last three years have seen a 49 percent increase in the use of drugs to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children under age 5, yielding a 369 percent increase in spending for those drugs. Over the same period, spending rose 21 percent for antidepressants and 71 percent for drugs to treat autism and other conduct disorders. Spending for antibiotics rose 4.3 percent.
"Behavioral medicines have eclipsed the other categories this year," said Robert Epstein, chief medical officer of Medco Health Solutions. "It certainly reflects the concern of parents that their children do as well as they can."
Overall, 5.3 percent of children took some behavioral medicine in 2003, leading some to fear it was overprescribed. Psychiatrist James McGough of the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute said children on attention-deficit drugs tend to do better in school and avoid substance abuse, but warned that antidepressants can increase suicide risk in children.
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