The consumption by children of drugs affecting brain activity has doubled in 10 years in France. They are often used to make up for the lack of space in specialized establishments and often concern products theoretically reserved for adults.
French children consume too many psychotropics. This is the conclusion of a report by the High Council for the Family, Childhood and Age (HCFEA) revealed by The Parisian, which must be made public on Monday, and which points to the too frequent use and in inappropriate proportions of psychotropic drugs, anxiolytics or even antidepressants in minors. This use has doubled in ten years and is partly linked to an increase in the diagnosis of mental disorders.
In France, at least 2.7% of people under 20 consume this type of drug acting on brain activity and behavior, according to data from Health Insurance and the Medicines Safety Agency (Anses), which represents more than 400,000 people. This part concerns young people who regularly take “hypnotic or anxiolytic” type treatments, to which other types of medication may be added.
“These levels of increase are disproportionate (2 to 20 times higher) with those observed at the level of the general population”, notes the report.
More than 150% increase on certain drugs
The consumption of all these treatments among the under 20s has increased significantly in less than 10 years, and particularly over the few years of the pandemic, with uses increasing by almost 50% for antipsychotics and up to more than 150 % for hypnotics and sedatives. An increase that contrasts with the attendance of medical-psycho-pedagogical centers (CMPP), which was divided by three between 2016 and 2019.
HCFEA President Sylviane Giampino explains to the Parisian that the report does not question “the usefulness of these drugs or their prescription”, but proposes a “rebalancing” with the other forms of care, in particular in a specialized center. The latter favor non-drug treatments with the aim of attacking the causes of the disorders and not only their symptoms, which is the prerogative of drugs.
“The pediatric, child psychiatric and medico-social offer is in decline and no longer allows children and families to be accommodated within a reasonable time (waiting times of 6 to 18 months),” deplores the High Council in its report. .
However, this situation leads to a “worsening of the state of health of children”, an “increase in emergency hospitalizations, suicidal acts and suicides in children and adolescents”. And “lack of appropriate care, the use of the only prescription of psychotropic drugs”.
Products for adults
Another problem: these treatments are generally intended for adults, but doctors prescribe them massively for children despite the absence of marketing authorizations. “They often have significant side effects and are sometimes not very suitable for the child’s brain,” explains the Parisian Marie-Rose Moro, child psychiatrist and author of a report in 2019.
Despite these undesirable effects, drug solutions can be means of promoting the return of children to school or the possibility of participating in group activities.
