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OBJECTIVES: This study assessed whether mental health services for youths differ with respect to medical assistance aid category. METHODS: Computerized claims for 15,507 youths with Medicaid insurance in a populous county of a mid-Atlantic state were used to establish population-based prevalence estimates of mental disorders and psychotherapeutic treatments during 1996. RESULTS: An analysis of service claims revealed that the prevalence of mental disorders among youths enrolled in foster care (57%) was twice that of youths receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI; 26%) and nearly 15 times that of other youths receiving other types of aid (4%). Rates of mental health service use were pronounced among foster care youths aged 6 to 14 years. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, and developmental disorders were the most prevalent disorders. Stimulants, antidepressants, and anticonvulsants were the most prevalent medications. CONCLUSIONS: Youths enrolled in foster care and youths receiving SSI use far more mental health services than do youths in other aid categories. Additional research should evaluate the complexity and outcomes of mental health services for youths in foster care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CONTEXT: Studies have revealed that youth in foster care covered by Medicaid insurance receive psychotropic medication at a rate > 3 times that of Medicaid-insured youth who qualify by low family income. Systematic data on patterns of medication treatment, particularly concomitant drugs, for youth in foster care are limited. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this work was to describe and quantify patterns of psychotropic monotherapy and concomitant therapy prescribed to a randomly selected, 1-month sample of youth in foster care who had been receiving psychotropic medication. METHODS. Medicaid data were accessed for a July 2004 random sample of 472 medicated youth in foster care aged 0 through 19 years from a southwestern US state. Psychotropic medication treatment data were identified by concomitant pattern, frequency, medication class, subclass, and drug entity and were analyzed in relation to age group; gender; race or ethnicity; International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, psychiatric diagnosis; and physician specialty. RESULTS: Of the foster children who had been dispensed psychotropic medication, 41.3% received > or = 3 different classes of these drugs during July 2004, and 15.9% received > or = 4 different classes. The most frequently used medications were antidepressants (56.8%), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder drugs (55.9%), and antipsychotic agents (53.2%). The use of specific psychotropic medication classes varied little by diagnostic grouping. Psychiatrists prescribed 93% of the psychotropic medication dispensed to youth in foster care. The use of > or = 2 drugs within the same psychotropic medication class was noted in 22.2% of those who were given prescribed drugs concomitantly. CONCLUSIONS: Concomitant psychotropic medication treatment is frequent for youth in foster care and lacks substantive evidence as to its effectiveness and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Little U.S. pharmacoepidemiologic study is based on treatment during continuous enrollment for periods more than a year. This study aims to show pediatric patterns of stimulant use (alone or with other psychotropic classes) from Medicaid administrative claims data for stimulant patterns of 3- to 8-year continuous enrollees. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was derived from Medicaid enrollment, pharmacy, and diagnosis claims data (2007-2014) in a mid-Atlantic state. Youth aged 2-17 years with 3-8 years of continuous enrollment treated with stimulants were compared with a date-matched comparison group treated without stimulants. Major outcomes include prevalence and duration of stimulant use and patterns of stimulant polypharmacy across relatively long enrollments (3-8 years). Results: Among 264,518 unique 2- to 17-year olds with 3-8 years of continuous enrollment, 16.5% had stimulant prescription dispensings, doubling the annual national prevalence of 8.1%. Subgroup analysis showed that the highest prevalence of stimulant use was for 6- to 11-year olds (20.4%), foster care eligible youth (42.3%), and those with 7-8 years of continuous enrollment (20.1%). Externalizing psychiatric disorders were far more common in those treated with stimulants than in those treated without stimulants. The duration of stimulant exposure overall was a median of 487 days, half that of foster care stimulant users. Stimulant polypharmacy with two or more psychotropic classes concomitantly characterized 29.8% of stimulant users. Among those with three or four or more class polypharmacy, 85% and 88%, respectively, had concomitant stimulant and antipsychotic use. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of three or more class polypharmacy significantly increased in 12- to 17-year-old age group (AOR = 1.8), foster care eligibility (AOR = 4.5), and among those with the longest enrollment (AOR = 1.7). Conclusions and Relevance: Stimulant prevalence in Medicaid-insured youth with continuous enrollment of 3-8 years was twice as common as in annual data sets. Future research should investigate three to five interclass stimulant polypharmacy effectiveness in reliably diagnosed community populations.

Background: Psychotropic concomitant medication use for the treatment of youth with emotional and behavioral disorders has grown significantly in the U.S. over the past 25 years. The use of pharmacy claims to analyze these trends requires the following: age of the selected population, overlapping days of use, and precision of the outcome itself. This review will also address the gaps in reporting of pediatric psychotropic polypharmacy. Methods: An electronic literature search was undertaken for the period 2000 through 2020 using keywords such as "pediatric," "concomitant," "polypharmacy," "multiple medications," and "concurrent psychotropic"; Relevant references in textbooks were also used. Only English language and U.S. studies were included, resulting in 35 inter-class studies. Results: Studies were organized into seven groups according to data sources and clinical topics: (1) population surveys; (2a) multi-state publicly insured populations; (2b) single/two state studies; (3) privately insured populations; (4) diagnosed populations; (5) foster care populations; (6) special settings. Across 20 years it is apparent that pediatric psychotropic polypharmacy affects substantially more children and adolescents today than had been the case. As many as 300,000 youth now receive 3 or more classes concomitantly. The duration of concomitant use is relatively long, e.g., 69-89% of annual medicated days. Finally, more adverse event reports were associated with 3-class compared with 2-class drug regimens. Discussion: Factors that contribute to the growth of pediatric psychotropic polypharmacy include: (1) predominance of the biological model in psychiatric practice; (2) invalid assumptions on efficacy of combinations, (3) limited professional awareness of metabolic and neurological adverse drug events, and (4) infrequent use of appropriate deprescribing. Conclusion: A review of publications documenting U.S. pediatric psychotropic polypharmacy written over the last 20 years supports the need to standardize the methodologies used. The design of population-based studies should maximize information on the number of youth receiving regimens of 3-, 4-, and 5 or more concomitant classes and the duration of such use. Next, far more post-marketing research is needed to address the effectiveness, safety and tolerability of complex drug regimens prescribed for youngsters., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Zito, Zhu and Safer.)

Background: Detailed research on long-term antidepressant (AD) trends within a single large US Medicaid population of youth has not heretofore been reported., Methods: Administrative claims data for eight annual timepoints across 28 years (1987-2014) were organized for youth (<20 years old) who were continuously enrolled during each study year in a mid-Atlantic state Medicaid program. Total annual AD prevalence and age-, gender-, race-, eligibility group-, and diagnosis-specific prevalence were formed from bivariate analyses; logistic regression assessed the change in use (2007-2014) adjusted for covariates. AD-polypharmacy data were assessed in 2014., Results: The major findings are: 1) AD use in state Medicaid enrollees grew 14-fold between 1987 and 2014. Data from 2014 revealed significantly increased odds of youth with SSRI/SNRI dispensings compared to 2007 (AOR=1.15 95% CI 1.11-1.19), representing 78% of total AD users. 2) Recent AD increases were greatest for 15-19-year olds. 3) AD use in girls passed up AD use in boys for the first time in 2014. 4) In 2014, ADs for foster care (12.7%) were 6 times greater than for their income-eligible Medicaid-counterparts. 5) In 2014, a quarter of AD-medicated youth were diagnosed with a behavior disorder. 6) More than 40 percent of AD medicated youth had >=1 other concomitant psychotropic classes for 60 or more days., Conclusions: Second-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., (Copyright © 2020 Zito, Pennap and Safer.)

Background: Recent reports of increased national estimates of pediatric psychiatric emergency department (ED) visits and psychiatric hospitalizations emphasize the need to research these utilization patterns., Objectives: To assess the patient-provider continuity of care (CoC) and compare the risk of psychiatric ED visits or hospitalization according to the CoC level., Research Design: A cohort design was applied to Medicaid administrative claims data (2007-2014) for 3-16-year olds with a first psychiatric diagnosis between 2009 and 2013 (n=38,825)., Subjects: Continuously enrolled youths with (1) ≥1 outpatient psychiatric visits and (2) ≥4 pediatric outpatient visits in the prior 24 months., Measures: The authors assessed CoC in the 24 months before the first psychiatric outpatient visit and quantified CoC using the Alpha Index. The authors assessed patient-provider CoC before first psychiatric diagnosis and the odds of psychiatric ED visits or psychiatric hospitalizations in the year after diagnosis., Results: Of the 38,825 youths, 88.9% received a first psychiatric diagnosis by age 14. The odds of ED visits were significantly higher among youths with low CoC [6.63%, adjusted odds ratio (AOR), 1.27; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.13-1.41] or moderate CoC (5.76%; AOR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.02-1.27) compared with those with high CoC (4.96%). Greater odds of psychiatric hospitalization related to low (7.53%; AOR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.06-1.29) or moderate CoC (7.01%; AOR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.03-1.27) compared with high CoC (6.06%)., Conclusions: The odds of potentially disruptive clinical management and costly psychiatric ED visits or hospitalizations were lower for youths with high CoC. The findings support the need to research the impact of CoC on long-term pediatric mental health service use.

The diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) in U.S. youth is increasing as is the rate of antidepressant medication (ADM) treatment for the disorder. Fluoxetine and escitalopram are FDA approved for the short term and maintenance treatment of MDD in youth. Placebo-controlled short-term ADM trials represent the basis for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Meta-analyses in 2007 and 2016 revealed that short-term ADM treatment of youth diagnosed with MDD resulted in no meaningful benefit for children and only marginal benefit for adolescents. Placebo substitution trials of ADM short-term responders represent the basis for FDA approval of ADM maintenance treatment. These ADM placebo substitution maintenance trials for youth with MDD are characterized by high dropout rates, a rapid withdrawal that often can follow the switch to placebo, and relapse rates that are not dissimilar from those in the natural course of the disorder. Without the evidence from problematic ADM placebo substitution trials, there is no acceptable support for the inclusion of ADM in maintenance treatment for MDD in youth., (Copyright © 2019 Safer and Zito.)

Objective: Care management entity models have a positive impact on functioning and symptom control among youths with serious emotional and behavioral disorders. However, little is known about whether treatment benefits are sustained after discharge. The study objective was to examine the association between enrollment in a care management entity and mental health outcomes during the year after discharge., Methods: Data from care management entity administrative claims were linked with Medicaid claims for youths enrolled in a care management entity anytime from December 2009 through December 2013. Inverse probability treatment weighting was used to balance baseline characteristics between the youths enrolled in the care management entity and a comparison group. Study outcomes were psychiatry-related hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits during the year after discharge. Two models were used to compare the two groups, one modeling the probability of using any psychiatric service and one modeling the number of visits for each outcome among users of either service., Results: After adjustment with inverse probability treatment weighting, 2,381 youths (care management, N=488; comparison, N=1,893) were identified. Care management was associated with a significantly lower likelihood of any psychiatry-related ED visit (odds ratio [OR]=.65, p=.017) and any psychiatric hospitalization (OR=.60, p=.011). No significant differences in outcomes were observed when the comparison was limited to users of services., Conclusions: Reduced use of psychiatric inpatient and ED services among youths enrolled in a care management entity was sustainable after discharge. Multiagency collaboration is needed to enrich the ability to assess outcomes across broader domains.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication use has dramatically increased in youth worldwide. Recent prevalence data in some European countries show expanded use with one country now matching US usage. Still, substantial geographic differences by country remain regarding the extent to which children receive ADHD medications. These geographic differences by country raise research questions about which country's prevalence data represents appropriate medication use. We urgently need country level studies to contribute to our understanding of an appropriate prevalence of ADHD medication use., (© 2018 American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.)

Objective: To assess the risk of incident cardiovascular events that led to hospitalizations or emergency department visits following atypical antipsychotic (AAP) treatment initiation in youth according to dose, duration of use, and concomitant use of leading psychotropic medication classes., Methods: We used computerized Medicaid claims to conduct a retrospective cohort study of youth (5-20 years) who initiated AAP treatment. AAP use was operationalized in a time-dependent manner according to current vs. former use, average daily dose (in risperidone dose equivalents), and duration of use. In a secondary analysis, concomitant use of (1) stimulants and (2) serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRI/SNRIs) with AAPs was also assessed. To account for confounding, disease risk score methodology was used in discrete time failure models., Results: There were 74,700 youth who initiated AAP treatment (average follow-up = 24.8 months). During follow-up, the risk of cardiovascular events was significantly greater during current than former AAP use (RR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.09-2.21). Furthermore, for current users of AAPs, the risk of cardiovascular events intensified with average daily dose (RR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.11-3.77 for >3.75 mg/day vs. ≤1.25 mg/day). The risk of cardiovascular events did not significantly differ according to duration of AAP use. In AAP-treated youth, concomitant SSRI/SNRI use was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events (RR = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.01-2.57). By contrast, stimulant use concomitant with AAPs was not significantly associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events., Conclusions: In publicly insured U.S. youth, current AAP use was associated with an increased risk of incident cardiovascular events, which intensified with increasing dose and with concomitant SSRI/SNRI use. Prudent interpretation of these findings suggests that further research is needed to identify youth subpopulations with the greatest risk of developing AAP treatment-emergent cardiovascular events.

Importance: The increased use of psychiatric services in the US pediatric population raises concerns about the appropriate use of psychotropic medications for very young children., Objective: To assess the longitudinal patterns of psychotropic medication use in association with diagnosis and duration of use in a Medicaid-insured birth cohort., Design, Setting, and Participants: A cohort design was applied to computerized Medicaid administrative claims data for 35 244 children born in a mid-Atlantic state in 2007 and followed up for up to 96 months through December 31, 2014. Children were included in the birth cohort if they had an enrollment record at birth or within 3 months of birth and at least 6 months of continuous enrollment from birth. The cohort represents 92.2% of 38 225 Medicaid-insured newborns in 2007., Exposures: Mental health treatments from birth through age 7 years., Main Outcomes and Measures: Cumulative incidence of first psychiatric diagnosis and psychotropic medication use (monotherapy or concomitant use of psychotropic medications) from birth through age 7 years, total and by sex, and the cumulative incidence of the use of psychosocial services (age, 0-7 years) as well as the annual duration of medication use (ie, number of days of psychotropic medication use among children 3-7 years of age)., Results: Of the 35 244 children in the cohort, 17 267 were girls and 17 977 were boys. By age 8 years, 4550 children in the birth cohort (19.7% [percentage adjusted for right censoring]) had received a psychiatric diagnosis (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes 290-319); 2624 of these diagnoses (57.7%) were behavioral (codes 312, 313, or 314). Girls were more likely than boys to receive an incident psychiatric diagnosis of adjustment disorder (355 of 1598 [22.2%] vs 427 of 2952 [14.5%]; P < .001) or anxiety disorder (114 of 1598 [7.1%] vs 120 of 2952 [4.1%]; P < .001). By age 8 years, 2196 children in the cohort (10.2% [percentage adjusted for right censoring]) had received a psychotropic medication. Among medication users, 1763 of 2196 (80.5% [percentage adjusted for right censoring]) received monotherapy, 343 of 2196 (16.4% [percentage adjusted for right censoring]) received 2 medication classes concomitantly, and 90 of 2196 (4.3% [percentage adjusted for right censoring]) received 3 or more medication classes concomitantly for 60 days or more (range, 78-180 days). The annual median number of days of psychotropic medication use among medicated children increased with age, reaching 210 of 365 days for children 7 years of age. Among children 7 years of age, the median number of days of use of an antipsychotic (193 days [interquartile range, 60-266 days]), stimulant (183 days [interquartile range, 86-295 days]), or α-agonist (199 days [interquartile range, 85-305 days]) exceeded half of the year., Conclusions and Relevance: Medicaid-insured children received substantial mental health services and had prolonged exposure to psychotropic medications in the early years of life. These findings highlight the need for outcomes research in pediatric populations.

Objective: To describe psychotropic medication prescribing practices of nurse practitioners (NP) and physicians for Medicaid-insured youths in 2012-2014 in a mid-Atlantic state where NP independent prescribing is authorized. Method: From annual computerized administrative claims data in a mid-Atlantic state, we analyzed 1,034,798 dispensed psychotropic medications prescribed by NPs and physicians for 61,526 continuously enrolled Medicaid-insured youths aged 2-17 years. Demographic and clinical characteristics of psychotropic medication users were compared for youths who received psychotropic medication dispensings by NP-only, physician-only, or by both providers using descriptive statistics and generalized estimating equations. We then characterized psychotropic medication prescribing practices by providers within each specialty. Results: From 2012 to 2014, the number of psychotropic medication dispensings increased from 346,922 to 349,080. There was a 50.9% increase in the proportion of psychotropic medications prescribed by psychiatric NPs (from 5.9% to 8.8%) and a 28.6% proportional increase by non-psychiatric NPs (from 4.9% to 6.3%). By contrast, the proportion of psychotropic medications prescribed by psychiatrists and by non-psychiatric physicians declined (56.9%-53.0% and 32.3%-31.8%, respectively). Youths diagnosed with depression or anxiety were more commonly treated by NP-only than by physician-only (AOR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.24-1.43), whereas youths with two or more psychiatric comorbidities were significantly more commonly treated by both NP and physician providers (AOR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.39-1.50). Psychiatric specialists prescribed the bulk of antidepressants (82.0%) and lithium (92.3%), with much lower prescribing by non-psychiatric specialists (18.0% and 7.7%, respectively). Antipsychotic orders originated from psychiatric specialists 7.4 times more than from their non-psychiatric specialty counterparts, whether physician or NP. Conclusions: NPs, relative to physicians, have taken an increasing role in prescribing psychotropic medications for Medicaid-insured youths. The quality of NP prescribing practices deserves further attention.

Objective: This cross-sectional study assessed the impact of a peer-review program on the prevalence of pediatric antipsychotic use among Medicaid-insured youths in a Mid-Atlantic state., Methods: Medicaid claims (2010-2014) were assessed among continuously enrolled youths in the 12 months before and after implementation of peer review. The study identified children ages zero to four preimplementation (N=118,815) and postimplementation (N=121,431), ages five to nine preimplementation (N=98,681) and postimplementation (N=107,872), and ages 10 to 17 preimplementation (N=154,696) and postimplementation (N=161,370). (Age ranges are inclusive of the final number). In each age group, multivariable logistic regression models with generalized estimating equations assessed the change in annual prevalence of antipsychotic use pre- to postimplementation. Use of other leading psychotropic classes and antipsychotic prescribing by medical specialty were also examined., Results: The annual pre- to postimplementation prevalence of antipsychotic use decreased significantly, from .07% to .03% (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=.41) among children ages zero to four, from 1.57% to .86% (AOR=.54) among those ages five to nine, and from 3.28% to 2.40% (AOR=.72) among those ages 10 to 17. With the exception of alpha-agonist use, which increased postimplementation (AOR=1.30) among those ages zero to four, no clinically significant pre-post change was noted in other leading psychotropic classes among children ages zero to four and 10 to 17. By contrast, postimplementation use of other psychotropic medications decreased among those ages five to nine (AOR=.73)., Conclusions: A state Medicaid peer-review program resulted in decreased antipsychotic use across all age groups, particularly among children younger than ten. No notable substitution of other psychotropic classes for antipsychotics was observed.

A state Care Management Entity (CME) using the wraparound practice model provided intensive care coordination for youth with severe mental illness, those most likely to receive antipsychotics. The model has led to improved clinical/functional outcomes, but little is known about the impact on antipsychotic prescribing and safety monitoring. A pre-post study was conducted to evaluate antipsychotic dosing, concomitant antipsychotic use, and metabolic monitoring among CME-enrolled and non-CME-enrolled comparison groups. CME-enrolled youth had greater decrease in concomitant antipsychotic use than non-CME-enrolled youth, but no difference in dosing or metabolic monitoring. More education of prescribing antipsychotics and team-based engagement in care coordination are needed.

Importance: Antidepressants are one of the most commonly prescribed classes of psychotropic medications among US youths. For adults, there is emerging evidence on the increased risk of type 2 diabetes in association with antidepressant use. However, little is known about the antidepressant treatment-emergent risk of type 2 diabetes among youths., Objective: To assess the association between antidepressant use and the risk of incident type 2 diabetes in youths by antidepressant subclass and according to duration of use, cumulative dose, and average daily dose., Design, Setting, and Participants: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using Medicaid claims data from 4 geographically diverse, large states of youths 5 to 20 years of age who initiated antidepressant treatment from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2009., Exposures: Antidepressant use (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRIs] or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors [SNRIs], tricyclic or other cyclic antidepressants, and other antidepressants) was assessed using the following 4 time-varying measures: current or former use, duration of use, cumulative dose, and average daily dose., Main Outcomes and Measures: Incident type 2 diabetes was assessed using discrete-time failure models, adjusting for disease risk score estimated using more than 125 baseline and time-dependent covariates., Results: In this cohort of 119 608 youths aged 5 to 20 years who initiated antidepressant treatment (59 087 female youths and 60 521 male youths; 54.7% between 5 and 14 years of age) with a mean follow-up of 22.8 months, 79 285 [66.3%] had SSRI or SNRI exposure. The risk of type 2 diabetes was significantly greater during current use than former use of SSRIs or SNRIs (absolute risk, 1.29 per 10 000 person-months vs 0.64 per 10 000 person-months; adjusted relative risk [RR], 1.88; 95% CI, 1.34-2.64) and tricyclic or other cyclic antidepressants (absolute risk, 0.89 per 10 000 person-months vs 0.48 per 10 000 person-months; RR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.06-4.36), but not of other antidepressants (absolute risk, 1.15 per 10 000 person-months vs 1.12 per 10 000 person-months; RR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.66-1.50). Furthermore, for youths currently using SSRIs or SNRIs, the risk of type 2 diabetes increased with the duration of use (RR, 2.66; 95% CI, 1.45-4.88 for >210 days and RR, 2.56; 95% CI, 1.29-5.08 for 151-210 days compared with 1-90 days) and with the cumulative dose (RR, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.35-4.43 for >4500 mg and RR, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.07-4.40 for 3001-4500 mg compared with 1-1500 mg in fluoxetine hydrochloride dose equivalents). By contrast, neither the duration nor the cumulative dose of other antidepressants was associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The risk of type 2 diabetes increased significantly with the average daily dose among youths with more than 150 days of SSRI or SNRI use (RR, 2.39; 95% CI, 1.04-5.52 for >15.0 vs ≤15.0 mg/d) but not among youths with 1 to 150 days of SSRI or SNRI use., Conclusions and Relevance: In a large cohort of youths insured by Medicaid, the use of SSRIs or SNRIs-the most commonly used antidepressant subclass-was associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes that intensified with increasing duration of use, cumulative dose, and average daily dose.

Over the last decades, an increase in antipsychotic (AP) prescribing and a shift from first-generation antipsychotics (FGA) to second-generation antipsychotics (SGA) among youth have been reported. However, most AP prescriptions for youth are off-label, and there are worrying long-term safety data in youth. The objective of this study was to assess multinational trends in AP use among children and adolescents. A repeated cross-sectional design was applied to cohorts from varied sources from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) for calendar years 2005/2006-2012. The annual prevalence of AP use was assessed, stratified by age group, sex and subclass (FGA/SGA). The prevalence of AP use increased from 0.78 to 1.03% in the Netherlands' data, from 0.26 to 0.48% in the Danish cohort, from 0.23 to 0.32% in the German cohort, and from 0.1 to 0.14% in the UK cohort. In the US cohort, AP use decreased from 0.94 to 0.79%. In the US cohort, nearly all ATP dispensings were for SGA, while among the European cohorts the proportion of SGA dispensings grew to nearly 75% of all AP dispensings. With the exception of the Netherlands, AP use prevalence was highest in 15-19 year-olds. So, from 2005/6 to 2012, AP use prevalence increased in all youth cohorts from European countries and decreased in the US cohort. SGA were favoured in all countries' cohorts.

Objective: Little is known about how nurse practitioner independent practice authority (NP-IPA) influences patient care. This study examined the effect of NP-IPA on patterns of mental health-related visits provided by NPs in U.S. community health centers (CHCs)., Methods: State NP regulatory information was linked to National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data on NP- and physician-provided visits (N=61,457) in CHCs from 2006 through 2011. The proportion of NP-provided versus physician-provided mental health-related visits in states with NP-IPA was compared with the proportion in states without NP-IPA. The adjusted odds of mental health-related visits in CHCs provided by NPs in states with and without NP-IPA were compared by using multiple logistic regression models while accounting for the complex survey design., Results: Between 2006 and 2011, the odds of NP- versus physician-provided mental health-related visits in CHCs were more than two times greater in states with NP-IPA than in states with no NP-IPA (adjusted odds ratio [OR]= 2.43, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.12-4.60). In contrast, no significant difference between states with and without NP-IPA was noted in non-mental health-related CHC visits provided by NPs. Among all mental health-related visits, the odds of visits in which psychotropic medications were prescribed by an NP were more than three times higher in states with NP-IPA than in those without NP-IPA (adjusted OR=3.14, CI=1.50-6.54)., Conclusions: Compared with physicians, NPs provided proportionally more CHC mental health-related visits in states with NP-IPA than in states without NP-IPA.

Objective: More than half of youth treated with atypical antipsychotic (AAP) medications are also treated with concomitant antidepressants or stimulants. This study assessed the association between antidepressant or stimulant use concomitant with AAPs and the risk of incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)., Method: Medicaid Analytic eXtract data were used to conduct a retrospective cohort study of youth (aged 5-20 years) who initiated AAP treatment. In AAP-treated youth, concomitant antidepressant (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRI]/serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors [SNRIs], tricyclic/other cyclic antidepressants [TCAs], and other antidepressants) or stimulant use was assessed. The risk of incident T2DM was estimated using discrete time failure models, adjusting for disease risk score estimated using >125 baseline and time-dependent covariates., Results: Among 73,224 AAP initiators, 43.0% had concomitant antidepressant use (76.4% were SSRI/SNRIs) and 43.8% had concomitant stimulant use. The study cohort had an average follow-up of 24.8 months (median = 22.0 months, interquartile range [IQR] = 10.0-38.0 months). In current AAP-treated youth, concomitant SSRI/SNRI (relative risk [RR] = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.30-2.59) or TCA use (RR = 2.75, 95% CI = 1.28-5.87) was associated with an increased risk of T2DM. By contrast, concomitant use of other antidepressants or stimulants with AAPs was not associated with an increased risk of T2DM. In concomitant users of AAPs and SSRI/SNRIs, the risk of T2DM increased with the duration of SSRI/SNRI use (RR = 2.35, 95% CI = 1.15-4.83 for ≥180 days vs. 1-180 days) as well as with the cumulative SSRI/SNRI dose (RR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.08-3.67 for >2,700 mg vs. 1-2,700 mg fluoxetine dose equivalents), after adjusting for the duration and cumulative dose of AAP use. By contrast, in concomitant users of AAPs and stimulants, neither duration nor cumulative dose of stimulants was associated with an increased risk of T2DM., Conclusion: In AAP-treated Medicaid-insured youth, concomitant SSRI/SNRI use was associated with a heightened risk of T2DM, which intensified with increasing duration and dose., (Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Concerns about serious cardiovascular (CV) events among stimulant-treated youth have led to clinical and policy debates. Accordingly, several population-based empirical studies have assessed the risk of CV events in children and adolescents treated with stimulants. The main objective of this review was to summarize findings and to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these population-based studies. In addition, we discuss the CV monitoring and policy implications for a clinically focused audience., Methods: A computerized literature search of Medline and PsycINFO was conducted for the calendar years 1990-2015 to identify population-based studies assessing stimulant treatment-emergent CV events in youth. Additional reports, peer-reviewed or gray literature, for example, government reports, were also included., Results: Nine population-based studies (one case-control and eight retrospective cohort designs) were included in this review. The case-control study compared sudden unexplained death cases to age-matched controls (motor vehicle passenger deaths) with respect to prior stimulant use and found a significant association (odds ratio = 7.4 [95% CI: 1.4-74.9]). By contrast, most retrospective cohort studies assessed the risk of serious CV events (i.e., sudden death, myocardial infarction, and stroke) and did not find an association with current stimulant exposure. The absolute rate for these serious events was low, but other data support risk. For example, cardiac-related emergency department visits showed a 20% increased risk for current stimulant users compared with nonusers in one study, and another study showed a 64% and 90% increased risk for concurrent use of stimulants with antidepressants and antipsychotics, respectively. Similarly, in another study, compared with nonusers, stimulant users had twofold greater odds of CV-related inpatient or outpatient services., Conclusion: In the face of mixed results from population-based safety studies, this review supports the inclusion of baseline and ongoing monitoring of cardiac status to assure a favorable benefit risk profile for stimulant users, particularly in concomitant regimens with antipsychotics and antidepressants.

Over the last two decades, the use of ADHD medication in US youth has markedly increased. However, less is known about ADHD medication use among European children and adolescents. A repeated cross-sectional design was applied to national or regional data extracts from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) for calendar years 2005/2006-2012. The prevalence of ADHD medication use was assessed, stratified by age and sex. Furthermore, the most commonly prescribed ADHD medications were assessed. ADHD medication use prevalence increased from 1.8% to 3.9% in the Netherlands cohort (relative increase: +111.9%), from 3.3% to 3.7% in the US cohort (+10.7%), from 1.3% to 2.2% in the German cohort (+62.4%), from 0.4% to 1.5% in the Danish cohort (+302.7%), and from 0.3% to 0.5% in the UK cohort (+56.6%). ADHD medication use was highest in 10-14-year olds, peaking in the Netherlands (7.1%) and the US (8.8%). Methylphenidate use predominated in Europe, whereas in the US amphetamines were nearly as common as methylphenidate. Although there was a substantially greater use of ADHD medications in the US cohort, there was a relatively greater increase in ADHD medication use in youth in the four European countries. ADHD medication use patterns in the US differed markedly from those in western European countries., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate a conceptual framework that assessed the effect of Hispanic residential isolation on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) health service utilization among 2.2 million publicly insured youth., Design: Cross-sectional., Setting: Medicaid administrative claims data for ambulatory care services from a US Pacific state linked with US census data., Participants: Youth, aged 2-17 years, continuously enrolled in 2009., Main Outcome Measures: The percent annual prevalence and odds of ADHD diagnosis and stimulant use according to two measures of racial/ethnic residential isolation: 1) the county-level Hispanic isolation index (HI) defined as the population density of Hispanic residents in relation to other racial/ethnic groups in a county (<.5; .5-.64; ≥.65); and 2) the proportion of Hispanic residents in a ZIP code tabulation area (<25%; 25%-50%; >50%)., Results: Among the 47,364 youth with a clinician-reported ADHD diagnosis, 60% received a stimulant treatment (N = 28,334). As the county level HI increased, Hispanic residents of ethnically isolated locales were significantly less likely to receive an ADHD diagnosis (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=.92 [95% CI=.88-.96]) and stimulant use (AOR=.61 [95% CI=.59-.64]) compared with Hispanic youth in less isolated areas. At the ZIP code level, a similar pattern of reduced ADHD diagnosis (AOR=.81 [95% CI=.77-.86]) and reduced stimulant use (AOR=.65 [95% CI=.61-.69]) was observed as Hispanic residential isolation increased from the least isolated to the most isolated ZIP code areas., Conclusions: These findings highlight the opportunity for Big Data to advance mental health research on strategies to reduce racial/ethnic health disparities, particularly for poor and vulnerable youth. Further exploration of racial/ethnic residential isolation in other large data sources is needed to guide future policy development and to target culturally sensitive interventions., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: None declared.

Objectives: The study objective was to assess national trends in the diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in outpatient visits by comparing adults and youths. Also examined were recent stimulant prescribing patterns for ADHD visits by youths and adults., Methods: Databases from the 1999-2010 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey were used in this cross-sectional study to analyze outpatient visit data of youths (ages two to 17 years; unweighted N=112,404) and adults (ages 18-64; unweighted N=426,209). The 12-year trends in ADHD visits were assessed as a proportion of youth and adult visits. The interaction of time period and age group was added to multivariable and weighted logistic regression models to assess whether trends in ADHD diagnosis differed by age group., Results: As a percentage of total visits, those involving an ADHD diagnosis were more common among youths than adults. However, from 1999 through 2010, the percentage of total visits involving a diagnosis of ADHD increased proportionally more among adult visits (from .3%, unweighted N=363 of 132,065, to .7%, unweighted N=1,015 of 154,764; adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=2.7, 95% confidence interval [CI]=2.1-3.7) than among youth visits (from 3.9%, unweighted N=2,033 of 36,263, to 5.2%, unweighted N=2,609 of 37,906; AOR=1.3, CI=1.1-1.6; p<.001). ADHD visits by adults compared with those by youths represented significantly greater proportions of females, Caucasians, patients with private insurance, and visits with a psychiatrist. Stimulant prescribing was common in ADHD visits regardless of age group (>70%)., Conclusions: As a percentage of total office-based visits, those at which ADHD was diagnosed increased more among adults than among youths from 1999 to 2010. Further research is warranted on the appropriateness, benefit-risk, and policy implications of stimulant use among adults with ADHD.

Objective: This study examined national trends between 1999 and 2010 in not otherwise specified (NOS) DSM-IV psychiatric diagnoses and in related medication treatment patterns reported for adults during outpatient physician office visits., Methods: Data on physician office visits by adults (ages 18-64) with a psychiatric diagnosis were from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (1999-2010) (N=52,026). Trends for visits with full-criteria diagnoses compared with visits with NOS diagnoses were analyzed for major psychiatric diagnostic groups, physician specialty, and prescribed medications. Population weighted chi square and logistic regression analyses were utilized., Results: Between 1999-2002 and 2007-2010, the proportion of all mental health visits by adults to office-based physicians that involved an NOS diagnosis increased significantly, from 42% to 50% (p<.001). Significant proportional increases in NOS diagnoses included bipolar disorders NOS (5% to 55%), anxiety disorders NOS (50% to 62%), and mood disorders NOS (.4% to 1.8%). In 2007-2010, NOS visits accounted for a greater proportion of visits to nonpsychiatrists than to psychiatrists (61% and 35%, respectively). Psychotropic medications prescribed during visits increased over time for both full-criteria and NOS diagnoses, but the increase was greater for NOS visits, specifically for antipsychotics, anticonvulsants-mood stabilizers, and lithium. By 2007-2010, psychotropic monotherapy and multidrug regimens were comparable for full-criteria and NOS diagnoses., Conclusions: The proportion of U.S. physician visits with an NOS psychiatric diagnosis increased to nearly 50% in 2007-2010. The increase raises concerns about the precision of psychiatric diagnoses in community care and about the impact on concomitant medication regimens.

Following the FDA black box warning in 2004, substantial reductions in antidepressant (ATD) use were observed within 2 years in children and adolescents in several countries. However, whether these reductions were sustained is not known. The objective of this study was to assess more recent trends in ATD use in youth (0-19 years) for the calendar years 2005/6-2012 using data extracted from regional or national databases of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). In a repeated cross-sectional design, the annual prevalence of ATD use was calculated and stratified by age, sex, and according to subclass and specific drug. Across the years, the prevalence of ATD use increased from 1.3% to 1.6% in the US data (+26.1%); 0.7% to 1.1% in the UK data (+54.4%); 0.6% to 1.0% in Denmark data (+60.5%); 0.5% to 0.6% in the Netherlands data (+17.6%); and 0.3% to 0.5% in Germany data (+49.2%). The relative growth was greatest for 15-19 year olds in Denmark, Germany and UK cohorts, and for 10-14 year olds in Netherlands and US cohorts. While SSRIs were the most commonly used ATDs, particularly in Denmark (81.8% of all ATDs), Germany and the UK still displayed notable proportions of tricyclic antidepressant use (23.0% and 19.5%, respectively). Despite the sudden decline in ATD use in the wake of government warnings, this trend did not persist, and by contrast, in recent years, ATD use in children and adolescents has increased substantially in youth cohorts from five Western countries., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To assess antipsychotic prescribing patterns according to insurance coverage type and physician specialty in the outpatient treatment of behavioral disorders (BD) in US youth., Methods: We used 2003-2010 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data to compare antipsychotic prescribing in the outpatient treatment of BD in youth (6-19 years) according to insurance coverage (public vs. private) and physician specialty (psychiatrist vs. non-psychiatrist) using population-weighted Chi-square and multivariable analyses. Also, we examined co-prescribing of antipsychotics with other psychotropic medication classes. Subgroup analyses were conducted in BD visits with no other clinician-reported psychiatric diagnosis (non-comorbid BD visits)., Results: A large majority (71.0%) of BD visits were provided by non-psychiatrists. However, psychiatrists prescribed antipsychotics far more frequently than non-psychiatrists (24.2% vs. 4.6%; adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 5.1 [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.8-9.2]) in total BD visits as well as in non-comorbid BD visits (18.6% vs. 3.6%; AOR = 5.8 [95% CI, 3.2-10.5]). Antipsychotic prescribing was nearly two-fold greater in visits by publicly insured 6-12 year olds (11.3% vs. 5.8%; AOR = 1.9 [95% CI, 1.1-3.5]) and 13-19 year olds (16.2% vs. 8.9%; AOR = 2.0 [95% CI, 1.1-3.6]) compared with their privately insured counterparts. In more than one-third of antipsychotic-prescribed BD visits, antipsychotics were prescribed concomitantly with ≥2 psychotropic medication classes regardless of age group, insurance coverage, or even in the absence of psychiatric comorbidities., Conclusion: In outpatient visits by youth for BD, antipsychotics were primarily prescribed by psychiatrists, concomitantly, and for the publicly insured. These treatment patterns merit further investigation., (Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Importance: Patterns and trends of subthreshold DSM-IV mental health diagnoses for youth within US community treatment settings merit systematic research., Objective: To quantify and assess temporal patterns of DSM-IV diagnoses not otherwise specified (NOS) among youth during physician office visits., Design, Setting, and Participants: We conducted a retrospective study using psychiatric diagnostic data from the US National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (n = 16,295) from 1999 through 2010, combined in 4-year intervals. Using diagnoses from visits to physicians, we compared trends of the proportional distribution of the major psychiatric diagnoses with subthreshold criteria (coded as NOS) with proportions of diagnoses reaching full criteria., Main Outcomes and Measures: Specific common psychiatric diagnoses NOS compared with full-criteria psychiatric diagnoses., Results: Between the 1999-2002 and 2007-2010 periods, the proportion of US medical visits reporting DSM-IV NOS psychiatric diagnoses compared with the proportion reporting full psychiatric diagnostic criteria for youth aged 2 to 19 years rose prominently for major mood diagnostic subtypes. Among all visits for mood disorders, NOS visits grew proportionally 1.5-fold from 45.3% in the 1999-2002 period to 68.8% in the 2007-2010 period (P < .001). Among visits for bipolar disorder, NOS visits increased more than 18-fold, from 3.6% in the 1999-2002 period to 72.6% in the 2007-2010 period (P < .001). In addition, anxiety disorder NOS increased from 44.6% in the 1999-2002 period to 58.1% in the 2007-2010 period. Overall, NOS visits constituted 35.0% of the total psychiatric visits in 2007-2010 but represented 55.9% when attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder codes were excluded., Conclusions and Relevance: The expansion of subthreshold (NOS) DSM-IV diagnoses of mood disorder, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorder in youth that has occurred since 1999 in all likelihood will continue in the DSM-5 era unless administrative efforts are made to alter this practice. Unspecified diagnoses lack research reliability and potentially increase the likelihood of off-label prescribing of psychotropic medication.

Objective: Over the last two decades, the increased use of atypical antipsychotic medications, often for unlabeled indications including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has been profound. This study aims to characterize duration of atypical antipsychotic use by age group and Medicaid eligibility category, and among youth with noncomorbid ADHD., Methods: Administrative data on 266,590 youth 2-17 years of age, and continuously enrolled in a mid-Atlantic state Medicaid program in 2006, were assessed in terms of median days of atypical antipsychotic use using bivariate analyses and multivariable quantile regression. Also, in a subanalysis of youth diagnosed with ADHD without any reported psychiatric comorbidities (i.e., noncomorbid ADHD), age-specific adjusted odds and adjusted median days of atypical antipsychotic use by Medicaid eligibility category were assessed. Additionally, patterns of use of single atypical antipsychotic regimens and two concomitant atypical antipsychotic regimens were described., Results: Overall, the median annual duration of atypical antipsychotic use was 180 days (interquartile range: 69-298 days). Children (2-12-year-olds) had longer durations of use than did adolescents (13-17-year-olds) (median 192 vs. 179 days), respectively. In the absence of any comorbid psychiatric diagnosis, ADHD-diagnosed foster care youth had more than threefold greater adjusted odds of atypical antipsychotic use than did youth enrolled in income-eligible Medicaid categories. Nearly one third of such ADHD-diagnosed foster care youth received atypical antipsychotics regardless of age group, with annual duration of use >250 median days in 2-12-year-olds. In concomitant atypical antipsychotic regimens, risperidone, aripiprazole, and quetiapine were the most common., Conclusions: Exposure to atypical antipsychotics in Medicaid-insured youth, in particular for children in foster care and those diagnosed with ADHD, was substantial, warranting outcomes research for long-term effectiveness, safety, and oversight for appropriate cardiometabolic monitoring.

The diagnosis of pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) has increased dramatically in community-treated youth in the past 20 years. No previous study has assessed the trend in PBD subtype diagnoses or the impact of clinician-reported behavioral comorbidities (BC) on psychotropic medication prescribing patterns. This study aims: (1) to characterize national trends in PBD visits in relation to PBD subtypes; and (2) to assess differences in socio-demographic PBD subtype diagnostic patterns and psychotropic medications prescribed in PBD visits with and without behavioral comorbidities (w/w/o BC). PBD visits for 1999-2010 from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) data were assessed using population-weighted chi-square and logistic regression analyses. While PBD visit rates were stable across 12 years, the proportional shift of subtype diagnosis from Bipolar I (89.0%) in 1999-2002 to Bipolar Not Otherwise Specified (NOS) (74.1%) in 2007-2010 was notable. Compared with PBD without behavioral comorbidities (w/o BC), PBD visits w/BC had greater proportions of the bipolar-NOS subtype, more males, 2-14-year-olds, and more publicly-insured visits. The prescription of antipsychotics (60% vs. 61%) was common in PBD visits regardless of the presence of behavioral comorbidities. Stimulants were the predominant class prescribed for PBD visits with BC (67.8% vs. 9.4%). Antidepressants were significantly greater in PBD visits without BC (41.6% vs. 21.0%). Overall one-third of PBD youth visits were prescribed antipsychotics concomitant with other psychotropic classes. Behavioral conditions accompanying PBD visits were prominent, suggesting the need for monitoring and evaluating the outcomes of complex medication regimens in community populations.