Youth Prescribed High Doses of Antipsychotics Off Label May Be at Heightened Risk of Death, Study Finds

Medicaid-enrolled youth aged 5 to 24 years who begin taking high doses of antipsychotics for psychiatric disorders other than psychosis appear to be at an increased risk of death compared with those taking other psychiatric medications, reports astudy published today inJAMA Psychiatry. The findings serve as a reminder of the importance of careful prescribing and monitoring of young patients on antipsychotics, according to the study authors.Wayne R. Ray, Ph.D., of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study of youth aged 5 to 24 years who were enrolled in Medicaid in Tennessee between 1999 and 2014. The researchers specifically focused on deaths of patients who began taking oral antipsychotics and/or other medications commonly prescribed for the same indications as antipsychotics (such as mood stabilizers or antidepressants) for recently diagnosed psychiatric disorders. Patients who had a diagnosis of severe somatic illness, schizophrenia or related psychoses, or Tourette syndrome or chronic tic disorder were excluded from the analysis.Of the 247,858 patients included in the cohort, 70.6% had a diagnosis of behavioral symptoms (ADHD, conduct disorder, or impulsivity). A total of 28,377 began taking a low dose of antipsychotics (defined as 50-mg or less chlorpromazine equivalents); 30,120 began taking a high dose of antipsychotics (higher than 50-mg chlorpromazine equivalents); 81,310 began taking ADHD medications (most frequen...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: ADHD antipsychotics Barbara Geller children conduct disorder David Fassler death impulsivity JAMA Psychiatry off label Wayne Ray young adults Source Type: research