학술논문

Stimulant Patterns, Alone or with Other Psychotropic Classes, in Medicaid-Insured Youth Continuously Enrolled for 3–8 Years.
Document Type
Article
Source
Journal of Child & Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Apr2024, Vol. 34 Issue 3, p127-136. 10p.
Subject
Language
ISSN
1044-5463
Abstract
Objective: Little U.S. pharmacoepidemiologic study is based on treatment during continuous enrollment for periods more than a year. This study aims to show pediatric patterns of stimulant use (alone or with other psychotropic classes) from Medicaid administrative claims data for stimulant patterns of 3- to 8-year continuous enrollees. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was derived from Medicaid enrollment, pharmacy, and diagnosis claims data (2007–2014) in a mid-Atlantic state. Youth aged 2–17 years with 3–8 years of continuous enrollment treated with stimulants were compared with a date-matched comparison group treated without stimulants. Major outcomes include prevalence and duration of stimulant use and patterns of stimulant polypharmacy across relatively long enrollments (3–8 years). Results: Among 264,518 unique 2- to 17-year olds with 3–8 years of continuous enrollment, 16.5% had stimulant prescription dispensings, doubling the annual national prevalence of 8.1%. Subgroup analysis showed that the highest prevalence of stimulant use was for 6- to 11-year olds (20.4%), foster care eligible youth (42.3%), and those with 7–8 years of continuous enrollment (20.1%). Externalizing psychiatric disorders were far more common in those treated with stimulants than in those treated without stimulants. The duration of stimulant exposure overall was a median of 487 days, half that of foster care stimulant users. Stimulant polypharmacy with two or more psychotropic classes concomitantly characterized 29.8% of stimulant users. Among those with three or four or more class polypharmacy, 85% and 88%, respectively, had concomitant stimulant and antipsychotic use. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of three or more class polypharmacy significantly increased in 12- to 17-year-old age group (AOR = 1.8), foster care eligibility (AOR = 4.5), and among those with the longest enrollment (AOR = 1.7). Conclusions and Relevance: Stimulant prevalence in Medicaid-insured youth with continuous enrollment of 3–8 years was twice as common as in annual data sets. Future research should investigate three to five interclass stimulant polypharmacy effectiveness in reliably diagnosed community populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]