Prescribing study reveals undertreatment of ADHD, depression, and anxiety among youth

Prescribing patterns of stimulant, antidepressant, and antipsychotic medications to young people are consistent with the epidemiology of anxiety, depression, and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), researchers have found, countering criticism that these medications are overprescribed in children and adolescents. In fact, the study, published in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology , shows that antidepressants and stimulants are, if anything, underprescribed. However, prescribing of antipsychotics for children may be more difficult to align to indications, as so much of this prescribing is done for off‐label — although not necessarily inappropriate — indications, the researchers concluded.