Patterns of Psychotropic Prescribing Practices in Autistic Children and Adolescents: An Australian Perspective of Two Cohorts Five Years Apart.

ABSTRACT

This study aims to describe the utilisation of psychotropic medications in Australian autistic children and adolescents. All children and adolescents with available Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme data who endorsed an autism diagnosis in The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, including both B (n = 233, age 0-1 years in wave 1) and K cohorts (n = 157, age 4-5 years in wave 1), were included to describe psychotropic prescribing patterns. 212 (54.4%) autistic children and adolescents received at least one psychotropic prescription and 99 (25.4%) had polypharmacy. The most common psychotropic class prescribed was antidepressants (31.3%). Children in the B cohort were more likely to have a parent-reported diagnosis of anxiety or depression (χ2 = 12.18, p < 0.001) and tended to be more likely to have received a psychotropic prescription (χ2 = 3.54, p = 0.06). Psychotropic prescribing in Australian autistic children is common despite limited evidence for efficacy and tolerability of psychotropics in this group.