Rise in preschool children receiving psychiatric drugs

The number of preschool children in the United States receiving methylphenidate (Ritalin), fluoxetine (Prozac), and other drugs for psychiatric disorders increased dramatically from 1991 to 1995, according to a new study. In the study, researchers reviewed outpatient prescription records from two state Medicaid programmes and one health maintenance organisation.

The investigators analysed these groups for the years 1991, 1993, and 1995. During the study period they found that the number of antidepressant prescriptions doubled in …