Teen depression fought more with drugs

STANFORD, Calif., Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Doctors prescribe anti-depressants more and use counseling less for U.S. teens, researchers say in what they describe as a threshold teen depression study.

In the wake of the Food and Drug Administration's 2004 warning that some anti-depressants may boost adolescents' suicide risk, Stanford University researchers said they mounted their study to track if the warning ultimately changes treatment practices.

The researchers said they found the number of 7- to 17-year-olds who sought medical help for depression doubled to 3.2 million from 1995 to 2002. At the same time, the use of medications rose to 52 percent while psychotherapy dropped to 68 percent.

"Pharmacotherapy is increasingly used as a substitute, rather than a complement, for psychotherapy," said researcher Randall Stafford.

"We're not saying that doctors should avoid prescribing anti-depressants for kids, but we are pointing out the potential for inappropriate use of anti-depressants," said Jun Ma, lead author of the study in the December issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health.