TY - JOUR KW - Adolescent KW - Child KW - Child, Preschool KW - Cohort Studies KW - Female KW - Humans KW - Male KW - Medicaid KW - Mental Disorders/drug therapy/epidemiology KW - polypharmacy KW - Psychotropic Drugs/therapeutic use KW - Time Factors KW - United States KW - Drugs & KW - psychotherapy, Drug treatment/psychopharmacology, Epidemiology, Psychopharmacology/general, polypharmacy AU - Soria Saucedo AU - X. Liu AU - J. M. Hincapie-Castillo AU - D. Zambrano AU - R. Bussing AU - A. G. Winterstein A1 - AB - OBJECTIVES: This study estimated the prevalence, time trends, and state-level variation of same- and multiclass psychotropic polypharmacy among youths in Medicaid fee-for-service plans. METHODS: Using pharmacy records from 29 Medicaid states from 1999 to 2010, the authors constructed ten two-year cohorts of beneficiaries between ages 0 and 17 years who received at least one psychotropic to treat a mental disorder. Polypharmacy was defined as any period in which dispensed days' supply of psychotropics overlapped for more than 45 days. Same- and multiclass psychotropic polypharmacy prevalence was stratified by age and state. RESULTS: A total of 692,485 children were included across each two-year cohort. The prevalence of any-class and multiclass psychotropic polypharmacy grew steadily, from 21.2% and 18.8% in 1999-2000 to 27.3% and 24.4% in 2009-2010, respectively. The prevalence increased with older age, with highest estimates for late adolescents. For same-class psychotropic polypharmacy, a constant upward trend was noted over time, except for antidepressants. Polypharmacy increased over the decade for central nervous system stimulants, from .1% to .6%, and for alpha-agonists, from .1% to .4%. Heterogeneous prevalences of psychotropic polypharmacy were noted across states, ranging from 6.9% to 48.8% for any-class psychotropic polypharmacy, from .4% to 6.4% for same-class antidepressant polypharmacy, and from .1% to 4.6% for antipsychotics. CONCLUSIONS: The study found an overall increasing trend of psychotropic polypharmacy coupled with significant variation across the examined states. A more granular assessment that considers patient characteristics and local contextual factors is warranted. AD - Dr. Soria Saucedo, Dr. Liu, Dr. Hincapie-Castillo, and Dr. Winterstein are with the Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, and Dr. Bussing is with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville. Dr. Winterstein is also with the Department of Epidemiology, University of Florida, Gainesville. Dr. Zambrano is with the Department of U.S. Medical Affairs, Merck and Company, Inc., Philadelphia.; Dr. Soria Saucedo, Dr. Liu, Dr. Hincapie-Castillo, and Dr. Winterstein are with the Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, and Dr. Bussing is with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville. Dr. Winterstein is also with the Department of Epidemiology, University of Florida, Gainesville. Dr. Zambrano is with the Department of U.S. Medical Affairs, Merck and Company, Inc., Philadelphia.; Dr. Soria Saucedo, Dr. Liu, Dr. Hincapie-Castillo, and Dr. Winterstein are with the Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, and Dr. Bussing is with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville. Dr. Winterstein is also with the Department of Epidemiology, University of Florida, Gainesville. Dr. Zambrano is with the Department of U.S. Medical Affairs, Merck and Company, Inc., Philadelphia.; Dr. Soria Saucedo, Dr. Liu, Dr. Hincapie-Castillo, and Dr. Winterstein are with the Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, and Dr. Bussing is with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville. Dr. Winterstein is also with the Department of Epidemiology, University of Florida, Gainesville. Dr. Zambrano is with the Department of U.S. Medical Affairs, Merck and Company, Inc., Philadelphia.; Dr. Soria Saucedo, Dr. Liu, Dr. Hincapie-Castillo, and Dr. Winterstein are with the Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, and Dr. Bussing is with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville. Dr. Winterstein is also with the Department of Epidemiology, University of Fl(TRUNCATED) BT - Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) C5 - Financing & Sustainability; Healthcare Disparities CP - 8 CY - United States DO - 10.1176/appi.ps.201700260 IS - 8 JF - Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) LA - eng M1 - Journal Article N2 - OBJECTIVES: This study estimated the prevalence, time trends, and state-level variation of same- and multiclass psychotropic polypharmacy among youths in Medicaid fee-for-service plans. METHODS: Using pharmacy records from 29 Medicaid states from 1999 to 2010, the authors constructed ten two-year cohorts of beneficiaries between ages 0 and 17 years who received at least one psychotropic to treat a mental disorder. Polypharmacy was defined as any period in which dispensed days' supply of psychotropics overlapped for more than 45 days. Same- and multiclass psychotropic polypharmacy prevalence was stratified by age and state. RESULTS: A total of 692,485 children were included across each two-year cohort. The prevalence of any-class and multiclass psychotropic polypharmacy grew steadily, from 21.2% and 18.8% in 1999-2000 to 27.3% and 24.4% in 2009-2010, respectively. The prevalence increased with older age, with highest estimates for late adolescents. For same-class psychotropic polypharmacy, a constant upward trend was noted over time, except for antidepressants. Polypharmacy increased over the decade for central nervous system stimulants, from .1% to .6%, and for alpha-agonists, from .1% to .4%. Heterogeneous prevalences of psychotropic polypharmacy were noted across states, ranging from 6.9% to 48.8% for any-class psychotropic polypharmacy, from .4% to 6.4% for same-class antidepressant polypharmacy, and from .1% to 4.6% for antipsychotics. CONCLUSIONS: The study found an overall increasing trend of psychotropic polypharmacy coupled with significant variation across the examined states. A more granular assessment that considers patient characteristics and local contextual factors is warranted. PP - United States PY - 2018 SN - 1557-9700; 1075-2730 SP - 919 EP - 926 EP - T1 - Prevalence, Time Trends, and Utilization Patterns of Psychotropic Polypharmacy Among Pediatric Medicaid Beneficiaries, 1999-2010 T2 - Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) TI - Prevalence, Time Trends, and Utilization Patterns of Psychotropic Polypharmacy Among Pediatric Medicaid Beneficiaries, 1999-2010 U1 - Financing & Sustainability; Healthcare Disparities U2 - 29879872 U3 - 10.1176/appi.ps.201700260 VL - 69 VO - 1557-9700; 1075-2730 Y1 - 2018 Y2 - Aug 1 ER -