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. 2023 Aug 1;74(8):880-884.
doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.20220314. Epub 2023 Feb 8.

Geographic Trends in Pediatric Psychotropic Medication Dispensing Before and After the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Greta Bushnell  1 , Jenny W Sun  1 , Susan dosReis  1 , Wendy Camelo Castillo  1 , Angela S Czaja  1 , Geneviève Durrieu  1 , Tobias Gerhard  1 , Haeyoung Lee  1 , Florentia Kaguelidou  1 , Sangita Pudasainee-Kapri  1 , Sudha R Raman  1 , O'Mareen Spence  1 , Daniel B Horton  1
Affiliations

Geographic Trends in Pediatric Psychotropic Medication Dispensing Before and After the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Greta Bushnell et al. Psychiatr Serv. .

Abstract

Objective: This study examined trends and geographic variability in dispensing of prescription psychotropic medications to U.S. youths before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Using national data on prescription medication dispensing, the authors performed a cross-sectional study examining the monthly percent change in psychotropic medications dispensed (total N=95,639,975) to youths (ages 5-18 years) in 2020 versus 2019, across medication classes and geographic regions.

Results: For many medications, more were dispensed in March 2020 than in March 2019 and fewer in April-May 2020 versus April-May 2019. Stimulants had the largest decline: -26.4% in May 2020 versus May 2019. The magnitude of the monthly percent change varied by region.

Conclusions: Fewer psychotropic medications were dispensed to U.S. youths after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with 2019. Although some medication classes rebounded to prepandemic dispensing levels by September 2020, dispensing varied by class and region.

Keywords: Adolescence; COVID-19; General child psychiatry; Psychopharmacology; Psychotropic drugs; Trends.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Camelo Castillo receives funding from the Merck Investigator Studies Program (MISP 59323). Dr. Gerhard has received consulting fees from Eisai and Alkermes, and Dr. Raman from Holmusk. Dr. Horton has received research grants and salary support from Danisco USA and the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance. The other authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

Figures

Figure.
Figure.. Monthly regional percent-change in psychotropic prescriptions dispensed to US children and adolescents (5–18 years) in 2020 compared with 2019
Example interpretation: percent-change <0% means that in that month in 2020, there were fewer prescriptions in 2020 compared with the same month in 2019
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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