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June 18th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda MONDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) — New research shows that the
number of prescriptions written for children has dropped by 7 percent in
recent years.
Between 2002 and 2010, notable decreases occurred in antibiotic,
cough/cold, allergy, pain and depression prescriptions, according to the
study, which was conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. At
the same time, there was a rise in the number of asthma, attention-deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and contraceptive prescriptions.
“Approximately 263 million prescriptions were dispensed to the
pediatric population in 2010 — 7 percent lower than the number of
prescriptions dispensed in 2002,” the study authors said, adding that the
number of prescriptions written for children dropped by 2.4 million each
year between 2002 and 2010.
During that time, however, the number of prescriptions written for
adults increased by 22 percent, according to the study.
The findings were released online June 18 and are scheduled to appear
in the July print edition of the journal Pediatrics.
The top 10 prescribed drugs for children 17 and under in 2010 included
antibiotics, asthma medications and the pain reliever ibuprofen.
Antibiotics accounted for approximately one-quarter of all prescriptions
written between 2002 and 2010, according to the study.
By 2010, however, the number of antibiotic prescriptions had decreased
by 14 percent.
“This could potentially be good news. The antibiotic numbers are
consistent with the efforts to decrease the use of antibiotics for upper
respiratory infections,” said Dr. Kenneth Bromberg, chairman of pediatrics
at the Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York City.
He noted, however, that this particular study wasn’t designed to tease
out the reasons behind a change in medication use, only to determine
whether a change occurred.
Still, he said, “It’s likely that this represents some of the efforts
to cut down on antibiotic use, and this will help to decrease the risk of
antibiotic resistance.”
The volume of allergy-medication prescriptions also decreased
significantly (61 percent), but much of that decrease may be because many
allergy medications went from prescription-only to being available over
the counter during the study period.
The number of prescriptions written for cough and cold medication
dropped by 42 percent during the study. The authors suggest that this may
be due to a public-health advisory in 2008 that warned against using such
medications in children under 2.
Prescriptions for pain medications declined by 14 percent, and the
number of prescriptions for depression drugs dropped by 5 percent.
Dr. Victor Fornari, director of the division of child and adolescent
psychiatry at North Shore-LIJ Health System in New Hyde Park, N.Y., said
the decrease in depression-medication prescriptions may have something to
do with the black box warnings that were added to the drugs, which
described an increased risk of suicide.
Not all classes of medications were prescribed less often. The number
of prescriptions for ADHD medications increased by 46 percent, according
to the study. Part of that increase likely is due to an increase in the
number of children being diagnosed with ADHD. In 2002, 4.4 million
children were estimated to have the disorder. By 2010, that number was 5
million, according to the study.
Even with the increase in prescriptions, Fornari said ADHD still is
being underdiagnosed and undertreated.
“With medication, the outcomes can be dramatic improvement in school
performance and behavior,” he said.
Another class of medications for which prescriptions increased
dramatically was contraceptives. The number of prescriptions written
increased by 93 percent, according to the study. The authors pointed out,
however, that other research, done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, hasn’t shown an increase in the use of birth control
pills.
Bromberg said one possible explanation for this disparity stems from
the study itself. The researchers looked for the number of prescriptions
written, not how many individuals received a prescription. So it may be
that females on birth control are staying on the drug for longer periods
of time, which would increase the number of prescriptions written.
The study also found that the number of prescriptions for asthma
medications increased by 14 percent. The authors didn’t theorize as to
what might be behind this increase.
More information
Learn about safely giving children medication from the Nemours Foundation.
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