|
|
|
|
| In a September 1st 1999 article from the Associated Press reported on ABC News comes a story about the over diagnosis and over drug treatment of children for Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, (ADHD). The article reports on a study published in the American Journal of Public Health where researchers examined about 30,000 grade-school children in two districts in southeastern Virginia. The results found that pupils in the study took drugs for ADHD in school at two to three times the expected rate. “It is hard to believe this many children have the specific brain-related problem called ADHD,” said LeFever, assistant professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the Center for Pediatric Research. “That is a very high rate of ADHD, by anyones estimate,” said psychologist Nadine M. Lambert of the University of California at Berkeley. Researchers also found that ADHD medication was used by three times as many boys as girls and twice as many whites as blacks. The study also showed that the use of the medication increased as children aged. By the fifth grade, 19 to 20 percent of white boys had received ADHD drugs. Dr. Louis H. McCormick, a faculty member in the family medicine department at Louisiana State University medical school, said this study confirms what he has long suspected in his own 20-year practice, that kids are being over-diagnosed with ADHD. Chiropractic offers an alternative to this over-medication approach. The results of 2 separate studies reveal that hyperactivity, and other behavioral conditions respond well to chiropractic care and even exceed results seen from medication. One such study at the University of Mississippi by Giesen JM, Center DB, Leach RA, showed “chiropractic manipulation has the potential to become an important nondrug intervention for children with hyperactivity.” (The term manipulation was used by the researchers.) |
|
|
| The above headline is from the October 21, 2001 issue of the USA Today newspaper. The opening sentence from the article makes the statement, "Doctors are increasingly prescribing psychiatric drugs suchas Ritalin and Prozac to preschoolers, despite questions about safety and effectiveness." Child psychiatrist Glen Elliott of the University of California Medical School in San Francisco, spoke at the American Academy of Pediatrics meeting in San Francisco and said, "Every pressure I'm aware of is pushing toward more use of these pills in young kids, and the potential for problems is huge." He goes on to explain, "HMOs are encouraging quick diagnoses, working parents often can't be home to enforce structured behavior-improvement programs, and everyone seems to want quick fixes." The concern about usage of these drugs has been growing following a recent report that showed that Ritalin use more than tripled in preschoolers between 1991 and 1995, and prescriptions for antidepressants doubled in that age group during the same period. Dr. Marsha Rappley, a pediatrician at Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine in East Lansing states that one of the concerns are side effects, which can range from mild to significant. Problems that can occur include headaches, stomach aches, sleep problems and loss of appetite. Additionally there is very little research on safety and effectiveness in kids under 4. Dr. Elliott worries about the long-term dangers of prescribing drugs such as Prozac to small children. "Antidepressants change how brain chemicals work, and permanent changes might result from kids taking such drugs since we know a lot of brain development is still going on at this young age." |
|
|
| The May 2001 issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine featured a study that showed a consistent increase of psychotropic medication usage in children and adolescents. This study showed that prescription prevalence in school-aged children 6 to 14 years increased from 4.4% to 9.5% of the population for stimulants during the study period. These alarming numbers lead to an editorial by Mark L. Wolraich, MD, also published in the same issue. Dr. Wolraich, of the Child Development Center Vanderbilt University Medical Center South, opened his remarks be saying, "Are we improving mental health care or drugging our kids?" Numerous articles over recent years have shown a dramatic increase in psychotropic drug usage in children. Ritalin is probably the most widely used psychotropic drug for children. Many health care professionals are recommending that other means be used instead of drugs like Ritalin. Several studies have shown that this drug is quite dangerous and can cause the following effects.
|
| Top / Back |
     |
| Download AOL Instant Messenger |