2024-01-09 05:31:00
Since the 1960s, methylphenidate (better known as Rilatine) has been the drug most often used in the case of ADHD, attention disorders in adults, but also and especially in children. Although it is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders, it is estimated that this chronic disease affects between 3 to 12% of children and 1 to 6% of adults.
In our country, the management of this disorder consists first of all in a non-drug approach, in particular psychoeducation and psychological monitoring, as suggested by the majority of international recommendations.
Sleep and appetite disorders, cardiovascular risks: the devastating side effects of Ritalin
But if there is no improvement, this psychostimulant medication can be prescribed. Problematically, the effectiveness of this treatment for this disorder is still the subject of discussion, particularly because of the few reliable studies available. There are significant side effects and the effects of taking psychostimulant medications long term are little known.
gull
We must prevent this medicinal solution from arriving in the first place.”
A 20% increase in consumption in 10 years
In 2022, almost 2.4% of children and adolescents used methylphenidate treatment, with three times more users among boys (3.5%) than among girls (1, 3%), reveals the Mutualités Chrétiennes as part of a study aimed at taking stock of the medical treatment of ADHD in Belgium. This is 20% more compared to 2013. The increase in use among the young population concerns girls (+42%) more than boys (+13%).
“The objective of this study is to note the expression of concern regarding the significant increase linked to the consumption of this treatment, underlines Claude Rolin, President of Mutualités Chrétiennes. Very often, it is not accompanied by psychological monitoring (which concerns 41% of young people with ADHD in 2022) and the treatment is carried out over a long period while we have little information on the effects. long-term negative side effects. Through the study, we want to remind you that we must avoid having this medicinal solution which comes first, it can only come as a last resort. Faced with these worrying results, we must make the political world think and act, this must quickly become a source of action”.
Medicines, leading cause of poisonings in Belgium: “Never give adult cough syrup to a child”
According to the study, we also learn that the use of methylphenidate is highly dependent on the age of the young people. For several years, children aged 12 to 15 have been most affected by drug treatment for ADHD.
In 2022, 3.2% of children aged 12 to 13 and 3.1% of children aged 14 to 15 will use it. The 10 to 11 year old age group is the third in terms of percentage of children using it (2.9% in 2022). For children aged 8 to 9, it is 2%. And the youngest children, aged 6 to 7, are those who use it the least (0.5% in 2022).
gull
We would therefore like clearer instructions for doctors and patients.”
In children who begin treatment at age 6, the average duration of use is 7 years (and the median duration is 8 years). For 25% of them, the treatment will last 11 years, that is to say they will continue to use methylphenidate until the age of 17 (maximum age to benefit from reimbursement.
The use of this drug would actually be much higher if we also take into account the volumes sold outside of reimbursement. And even if it is sometimes essential, doctors tend to prescribe it too quickly because there are no other solutions and they have to go quickly.
Two fatal weapons once morest bronchiolitis, “this covid of children”, will arrive here but not before next year
A procedure which raises questions in Belgium “The analysis of the duration of the appeal shows that the treatment is used for long periods, specifies Svetlana Sholokhova, health research manager at the Mutualités Chrétiennes and who is at the origin of the study. What is particular with ADHD is that we must go through a psychologist who will carry out an assessment, following which the patient is referred to a psychiatrist who will perhaps prescribe this medication. It is a medical assessment that is expensive, we then have an overdiagnosis among the wealthiest classes but we see the opposite effect among the most disadvantaged who do not access care in time. Overall, we see that this medication is easily prescribed but not everyone has the same access.”
According to the authors of the study, the procedure is not well enough described in Belgium. The FPS Health has developed a care pathway for the illness via a psychoeducational approach firstly. The approach is therefore intended to be general and non-medicinal, which can sometimes be sufficient, for example by adapting a child’s school rhythm or the organization in class.
Little Indya, whose parents called for help, died
“It is only following this course that we can turn to this medication but what worries us is that the procedure is not clear, we do not know when and how we stop this course of care when We’re in there, she asks herself. For patients and doctors alike, we do not know when to stop the medication once we have started taking it. Which is a problem when we know that there is a radical change in the child’s behavior in 24 hours, it must be stopped at a given moment because there is little knowledge regarding it, the risk-benefit ratio is worrying. It should not be taken throughout life, so we would like clearer instructions for doctors and patients, particularly on the risks and more information to properly assess when to stop consumption. We want to be sure that this treatment is relevant.”
1704783420
#Hyperactive #prescriptions #Ritalin #cocaine #children #dangerously #increasing #gray #areas