A recent study has raised a lot of questions about the safety of psychiatric drugs for children and adolescents (young adults) as researchers found that 25% of all patients prescribed psychiatric medications (age 18 and under) may be at risk from the way prescriptions are currently written. The study found a significant percentage of patients in this population were prescribed multiple psychiatric medications simultaneously (known as polypharmacy) adding to the risk associated with those medications. Polypharmacy adds to the risk associated with each individual medication by increasing the likelihood of side effects, drug interactions, and unknown long-term consequences associated with taking multiple medications at the same time.
Certain kinds of psychiatric medicines can be beneficial, saving the lives of those who take them as long as they are prescribed correctly. Unfortunately, there has been little to no evidence regarding the potential benefits that exist when more than one psychiatric medication is given together to someone younger than 18 years old. There is a lack of clarity in research as to what potential risks exist in the prescribing of multiple forms of psychiatric medication.
In addition to the issue surrounding risk, it was also reported that many patients are being prescribed multiple classes of psychiatric medications including antidepressants, antipsychotics and mood stabilizers concurrently by health care providers as a means to assist with treating their mental health symptoms. These patients may be prescribed other medications to treat physical health conditions concurrently by their health care provider (these medications can also cause side effects and/or adverse events). This complexity of medication medication administration (the multiple contributing factors that can cause an increase in the risk of drug interactions) is a contributing factor for the many side effects that some patients experience from taking multiple classes of psychiatric medications.
According to experts, the information presented by this study will result in prescribing guidelines that will allow for the appropriate use of non-pharmacological therapies, and routine systematic review of all medications used by adolescents who are receiving multiple medications.
It is important for families to know that psychiatric drug safety is not the rejection of medications as part of a treatment plan, but instead refers to each medication and how it fits into an individual’s overall treatment plan including clear purpose/reason for use, benefits outweighing any possible risks associated with its use, and continued follow-up after initiation. For youth who are already carrying the burden of mental health problems, the assurance of the safety of psychiatric medications may be the difference between merely surviving and actually healing from their mental illness.
Source: U.S. News – Young People At Risk From Psychiatric Drug Combos, Study Says
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