A new statement from doctors warns physicians to use caution when prescribing mood-altering medications to kids. The statement, which appeared in the American Academy of Neurology and was endorsed by the Child Neurology Society, noted that prescriptions for ADHD have risen in the last twenty years, due in part to healthy kids getting medication to boost attention and school performance. According to a survey from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1.7 percent of eighth graders and 7.6 percent of 12th graders have misused Adderall.
“The possibility of overdiagnosis and overtreatment is clearly there,” said lead author Dr. William Graf of Yale University. “We’re not going to give a pill for every problem in childhood.” He and the other physicians warn doctors not to prescribe to a teen who requests the medication against their parents’ advice. Little is known about the long-term effects of stimulant use, and prescribing these drugs to healthy kids and teens is unjustifiable, according to Graf and his colleagues.
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Source: Reuters – Be cautious of mind-altering drugs for kids: doctors
