Antipsychotic prescriptions haven’t budged in 10+ years despite recommendations to curb use

The number of antipsychotic drugs prescribed to patients with intellectual disabilities has hardly changed in over a decade despite official recommendations for clinicians to stop using them due to side effects, finds research published in the online journal BMJ Open.

And there’s been a sharp rise in antidepressant prescriptions over the same period.

Mental ill health is common in people with intellectual disabilities, with the prevalence of psychosis estimated to be around 4%. But antipsychotics are sometimes prescribed for adults with intellectual disabilities who don’t have a record of severe mental ill health—often for problem behaviours—despite limited evidence to back their use beyond short-term sedation.

Read more of the original article from MedicalXpress

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