Nearly 20% of children have taken at least 1 prescription medication in the last month, and 7.5% took 2 or more, according to a new study. Researchers note that many children taking multiple drugs are at risk for major drug-drug interactions.
The study looked at data from the 2013-14 period of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The data was based on prescriptions for more than 23,000 children and adolescents. Prescription drug use was highest in adolescent girls (28%) followed by boys between the ages of 6 and 12 years old (26.5%), the researchers reported in the journal Pediatrics.
Overall, in adolescents between 13 and 19 years old, about 23% had taken a prescription drug in the last 30 days. In the 6-to-12 age group, 21% of children reported using a medication.
Respiratory drugs, such as those used for asthma and allergies, were the most commonly prescribed to children, followed by psychotherapeutic agents, which include drugs such as stimulants for ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and antidepressants.
Researchers noted that 8.2% of children and adolescents taking more than 1 drug were at risk for a potentially serious drug-drug interaction, and the majority of those interactions were because of antidepressants. Put another way, 1 in 12 children face a potentially dangerous drug-drug interaction.
Data indicated that the percentage of children taking a prescription drug in the last 30 days has actually been declining since the 2005-06 period, when it was just over 25%.
