Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antidepressant and antipsychotic use among children and adolescents: a population-based study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increases in the prevalence of depression, anxiety and behavioural problems among children and youth. Less well understood is the influence of the pandemic on antidepressant and antipsychotic use among children. This is important, as it is possible that antidepressants and antipsychotics were used as a "stop-gap" measure to treat mental health symptoms when in-person access to outpatient care and school-based supportive services was disrupted. Furthermore, antipsychotics and antidepressants have been associated with harm in children and youth. We examined trends in dispensing of these medications two years following the pandemic among children 18 years of age and under in Ontario, Canada.

Methods

We conducted a population-

SUBMITTER: Antoniou T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10749316 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature