Antidepressant Use in Medicaid-Insured Youth: Trends, Covariates, and Future Research Needs
- Resource Type
- article
- Authors
- Julie M. Zito; Dinci Pennap; Daniel J. Safer
- Source
- Frontiers in Psychiatry, Vol 11 (2020)
- Subject
- antidepressants
polypharmacy
children
adolescents
Medicaid
foster care
Psychiatry
RC435-571
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1664-0640
BackgroundDetailed research on long-term antidepressant (AD) trends within a single large US Medicaid population of youth has not heretofore been reported.MethodsAdministrative claims data for eight annual timepoints across 28 years (1987–2014) were organized for youth (=1 other concomitant psychotropic classes for 60 or more days.ConclusionsSecond-generation antidepressant use in Medicaid-insured youth has increased despite growing questions that pediatric AD benefits may not outweigh harms. These patterns support the call for publicly funded, independent investigator-conducted post-marketing outcomes research.