Study finds 1. 2 percent of preschoolers on Medicaid use psychotropic drugs
Using 2000-2003 Medicaid Analytic Extract data from 36 states, a group of researchers at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis and at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found preschoolers are receiving psychotropic medications despite limited evidence supporting safety or efficacy. The results of the study are published in the March issue of the American Journal of Public Health . "Because we don't have indications in our data, it is not entirely clear why these children are receiving psychotropic drugs," said Lauren Garfield, PhD, lead author on the study, who was a postdoctoral research associate at the Brown School when the study was conducted and is now with Mercy Research in St. Louis. "It is possible that some of these children have brain injuries or insults, such as traumatic brain injuries, fetal alcohol syndrome or the like, for which treatment is being provided. But if these medications are being used solely for...