Antipsychotics and Teens

Over half a million US children, teens now taking antipsychotics, FDA report says.
On its front page, the New York Times (9/2, A1, Wilson) reports, "More than 500,000 children and adolescents in America are now taking" antipsychotics, "according to a September 2009 report by the Food and Drug Administration." Recently, another study "found a doubling of the rate of prescribing antipsychotic drugs for privately insured two- to five-year-olds from 2000 to 2007. Only 40 percent of them had received a proper mental health assessment, violating practice standards from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry." Many experts now believe that prescribing antipsychotics for young children may be risky for the development of both their bodies and their brains.
Mental health leads list of top 5 concerns at colleges. Under the headline "5 Big Health Issues On Campus," NPR (9/1, Wyckoff) reported on "what health concerns are topping the agenda now," according to college health officials and Dr. Al Glass, president of the American College Health Association. The issues, in order, are mental health, because "stress is a biggie," followed by sleep issues; the "perennial concern" of infectious diseases such as flu; exercise needs to prevent obesity, and alcohol abuse.