Changes in psychotropic medication prescription patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic among Japanese children, adolescents and young adults: interrupted time-series study using a national claims database.

ABSTRACT:

Background

To date, no research has explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychotropic prescription patterns among young people in Japan, where lockdown measures were relatively less stringent.

Aims

This study aimed to investigate changes in the prescription patterns of psychotropic medications for Japanese young people before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, using the DeSC Database.

Method

We conducted an interrupted time-series analysis, with data from February 2016 to November 2022, to assess the pandemic's effects on psychotropic prescriptions for children, adolescents and young adults. The analysis included subgroups based on age (6-11, 12-17 and 18-22 years) and gender. The number of patients prescribed psychiatric drugs before and after the pandemic w

SUBMITTER: Huang W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12641412 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature