Depression treatment during outpatient visits by US children and adolescents

Purpose: Depression affects approximately 2-8% of all children and adolescents, and treatment of depression in children and adolescents has been the center of recent serious debates. We examined national trends in depression visits and treatment among outpatients aged 7 to 17 years. Methods: We analyzed visit-based data between 1995 and 2002 in two national ambulatory care Surveys. Results: The number of visits by children and adolescents during which depression was reported more than doubled frorn 1995-1996 (1.44 million) to 2001-2002 (3.22 million). The proportion of these visits during which antidepressants were prescribed rose slightly from 47% in 1995-1996 to 52% in 2001-2002, whereas the proportion during which psychotherapy or mental health counseling was provided declined from 83% to 68%. Selective serotonin reliptake inhibitors (SSRI) represented 76% of all antidepressants prescribed in 1995-1996 and 81% in 2001-2002. In absolute terms, SSRIs were reported in 1.35 million visits in 2001-2002, reflecting a 2.6-fold increase from 1995-1996. Fluoxetine was prescribed in 207,914 visits in 1995-1996 and increased 100% to 415,580 visits in 2001-2002. The use of sertraline increased by 62% to 345,576 visits and paroxetine by 269% to 279,275 visits. Conclusions: We observed a declining trend in the provision of psychothcrapy/rnental health counseling during outpatient visits by children and adolescents diagnosed with depression. Although the likelihood of receiving anti depressants remained essentially unchanged, the number of children and adolescents whose visits involved prescription of antidepressants, particularly SSRls, has increased markedly through 2002. Although fluoxetine remained the most commonly prescribed, other SSRIs were increasingly prescribed through 2002. These trends raise concerns regarding the widespread off-label use of antidepressants lacking reliable evidence of safety and efficacy for use in children and adolescents. (c) 2005 Society for Adolescent Medicine. All rights reserved.