In France, drug prescriptions for children remain at high levels.
- France is one of the countries that consume the most medicines in Europe.
- In the absence of updated data for ten years on pediatric drug prescriptions, researchers have quantified them in France and studied their evolution between 2010 and 2019.
Too many drugs are still prescribed to children in France, and in particular to those under six, warn Inserm researchers in a study published Monday, July 12.
Iessay, published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health Europe, reveals that over the recent period (2018-2019), on average, 86 out of 100 children under the age of 18 were exposed to at least one prescription drug during a year, which corresponds to an increase of 4% compared to 2010-2011. Children under the age of six represented the category of children most exposed to drugs, with more than 97 children out of 100 affected over a year.
Finally, 2% of infants under 6 weeks received a prescription for proton pump inhibitors during the year 2018-2018, and this “although the frequency of the conditions for which this treatment is recommended is much lower at this age”, explains Dr. Marion Taine, co-author of the study.
Analgesics and antibiotics are the most prescribed
The most prescribed therapeutic classes over the 2018-2019 period were analgesics (64%), antibiotics (40%), nasal corticosteroids (33%), vitamin D (30%), non- steroids (24%), antihistamines (25%) and oral corticosteroids (21%).
“After the publication of the 2011 data, we expected a significant change for certain therapeutic classes given the regulations put in place or the recommendations issued since 2011. A 12% decrease in the frequency of antibiotic prescriptions out of the ten years has been noted in our study, but this remains insufficient because more than one out of two children under the age of 6 has received an antibiotic prescription during the year”, explains Dr. Marion Taine.
France prescribes more pediatric drugs than other countries
France is one of the countries that prescribes the most drugs in outpatient pediatrics, “even if international comparisons need to be made with caution because health systems and drug reimbursement policies (especially those available over the counter) differ between countries” specifies Inserm in a press release.
Comparisons made between a few countries with advanced economies reveal, for example, that the frequencies of oral corticosteroid prescriptions for French children were 5 and 20 times higher than those observed for American and Norwegian children in other recent studies. For antibiotics, the frequency of prescriptions to French children was 5 times higher than that observed in the Netherlands.
“Worrying results”
For the researchers, these high levels of prescriptions could be explained in particular by the positive image associated with drugs in France, both in the population and among prescribers. In the other countries with advanced economies, there would be a more conscious ratio of the risk-benefit balance of drugs.
“These worrying results require detailed analyzes to better target future training campaigns to optimize the use of medicines in paediatrics. Better information for the population and prescribers regarding the use of medicines in children is essential. “, concludes Dr. Marion Taine.
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