Panorama de la prescription et de la consommation des psychotropes chez l’enfant et l’adolescent en France

Abstract

ObjectivesThis work had several aims: to estimate the frequency of prescription of psychotropic medications in children and adolescents in France; to compare the prevalence of prescription with the consumption data for adolescents aged 17; to study associations of psychotropics because of the increase co-prescriptions as practice; Finally, to assess the impact of public health measures such as warnings about the prescription of antidepressants by studying changes in their prevalence between 2002 and 2006. MethodsData from different health insurance companies were used to calculate the estimate of the prevalence of various psychotropic French. Consumption was calculated using data from the Survey of Health and Consumption in the Call for Defense Readiness (ESCAPAD). A database of prescriptions of general practitioners and psychiatrists (Cegedim Strategic Data) was used to model the combination therapies and to monitor prescriptions of antidepressants between 2002 and 2006. ResultsThe estimated annual frequency of prescription of psychotropic drugs in children and adolescents 18 years of age is 2.2% in France. However, psychotropic consumption is higher. In 2005, 14.9% of subjects aged 17 took treatment for sleep or nerves. Only half of these came from a drug taken by a medical indication. Moreover, nearly one third of prescriptions were multiple. Antidepressants are most concerned. Finally, prescriptions of antidepressants significantly decreased since the warnings issued in 2004. ConclusionThis work has allowed us to characterize the frequency of use of psychotropic drugs in France and some of their terms of use. It recalls at various points the unofficial way these treatments are often prescribed and used, and the need for monitoring these practices in terms of Public Health. These terms of use are themselves a reflection of cultural representations of mental illness of the child.