Psychotropic drugs: prescriptions in paediatric age double
These are mainly antipsychotics, antidepressants and drugs for ADHD: in Italia consumption is lower than in the EU countries but the trend is increasing
Key points
Since 2016, both the prevalence of use and consumption of paediatric psychotropic drugs have more than doubled. Although they still remain at low levels, they have risen from 20.6 packs per 1000 children (prevalence of 0.26%) in 2016 to 59.3 packs per 1000 children (prevalence of 0.57%) in 2024. These are mainly antipsychotics, antidepressants and ADHD drugs. These are the data from the OsMed 2024 Report on the use of medicines in Italia, produced by the Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa), according to which, during 2024, approximately 4.6 million children and adolescents received at least one pharmaceutical prescription, equal to 50.9% of the Italian paediatric population, with a slightly higher prevalence in males than females (51.9% versus 49.9%).
Recourse to psychotropic drugs increases with age
"The use of psychotropic drugs," underlines the Aifa report, "shows an upward trend by age, reaching a maximum in the 12-17 age bracket, in which a consumption of 129.1 packages per 1,000 and a prevalence of 1.17% is recorded. An upward trend, therefore, in line with the results of other published international epidemiological studies, which show a general upward trend in prescription rates for these drugs in all countries of the world, especially following the Covid-19 pandemic. In Italia, despite the increase observed in recent years, partly linked to the consequences of the pandemic emergency on the mental health of children and adolescents, the use of psychotropic drugs remains significantly lower than in other countries. In 2024, the prescription of these medicines in the Italian paediatric population will stand at 0.57%, a figure that has indeed doubled since 2020 (0.30%), but is still lower than in other European (e.g. France with 1.61%) and non-European (USA 24.7%-26.3%) countries. The use of psychotropic drugs in the paediatric population in Italy is still lower than in other countries
Most prescribed paediatric drugs
According to the Osmed report, anti-infectives for systemic use are confirmed as the therapeutic category with the highest consumption in paediatric age, followed by drugs for the respiratory system and systemic hormonal preparations, excluding sex drugs and insulins; for all categories there is an increase in consumption compared to the previous year. Central nervous system medicines (antiepileptics, antipsychotics, antidepressants and psychostimulants) are in fourth place among the most prescribed medicines, with consumption accounting for 8% of the total and an increase of 4.1% over 2023.
The trend in Tuscany and Lazio
The alarm launched by Aifa on the consumption of psychotropic drugs in paediatric age calls for coordinated attention between paediatricians, child neuropsychiatrists, general practitioners and pharmacists, says Andrea Cicconetti, president of Federfarma Roma, emphasising that 'as pharmacists we have noted an increase in demand, both for drugs indicated for attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorders and for anxiolytics and opioids'.
Particularly significant is the increase in ADHD drugs, which in Lazio reach 12.3 packages per 1,000 children, compared to the national average of 4.9, with an annual variation of +30.8%. "Particularly for anxiolytics and opioids," Cicconetti proposes, "it would be crucial to complete the national transition to the white electronic prescription in order to counter any falsifications and improve the traceability of prescriptions. At the same time, it is necessary to invest in health literacy, involving families and young people, to promote a more aware and appropriate use of these drugs'.
