Record numbers of children prescribed anti-depressants

Record numbers of children prescribed anti-depressants

By DUNCAN ROBERTSON - More by this author » Last updated at 10:22am on 23rd July 2007 Comments (1)

The number of school children prescribed anti-depressants and mind-altering drugs has more than quadrupled in the last decade, it has emerged.

New figures show GPs are prescribing pills in record numbers to combat stress, violent behaviour and even tiredness.

Under-16s were given drugs for mental health problems more than 631,000 times in the last year, compared to just 146,000 in the mid-Nineties.

The steady increase in the use of anti-depressants over the last 10 years has been blamed on family breakdown and high-stakes school exams.

But there are fears doctors are under pressure to prescribe drugs such as Prozac as a "quick fix" solution when problems could be better solved by counselling.

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The findings come despite the publication of research showing that children given anti-depressants run a higher risk of self-harm and are more likely to attempt suicide.

These figures, published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, show a huge year-on-year increase in medication prescribed by GPs for depression, behaviour control and severe mental disorders.

Behaviour-altering drugs soared ten-fold in a decade. These include Ritalin, for attention deficit huperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Modafinil, for daytime sleepiness.

Academics say Modafinil is increasingly used by students to stay awake and boost short-term memory.

Prescriptions for the drug for under-16s rose from 48,264 in 1996/97 to 454,797 in 2006/07.

Among 16 to 18-year-olds in full-time education there was a rise from 2,058 to 40,339.

According to the figures, prescriptions for anti-depressants have risen from 78,353 to 109,535 within the same timespan.

The rise is relatively small because doctors are now recommended not to prescribe most anti-depressants to under-18s.

Among the drugs effectively banned are Seroxat, which was taken by an estimated 50,000 British youngsters before guidelines ruled it out in 2003.

Seroxat - also known as paroxetine - alters levels of mood-regulating chemicals in the brain.

It was given to children as young as six but critics said young patients became more likely to commit suicide, and parents told how their children had mood swings, nightmares and personality changes.

NCH, the children's charity, claims that one child in 10 has significant mental health problem and rates have doubled since the 1990s.

A DCSF spokesperson said: "The Government's Every Child Matters agenda commits to supporting every child to have a happy and healthy childhood.

"Just last week, Secretary of State for children, schools and families Ed Balls announced £60m to support schools to work with mental health practitioners and others to improve the emotional well being of pupils.

"He also announced £396million for early intervention programmes to help children and their families."