Teenage antidepressant use rises: drug trends report

Antidepressant claims for teenagers rose this year, according to the TELUS Health 2023 Drug Trends Report. There was a “significant increase” in antidepressants by plan members who were 19 years of age. The prescribing activity for members under 19-years-old grew from 15.9% of all claims for antidepressants in 2018 to 19.3% in 2022, a rise that TELUS Health said came from the impact of the pandemic on young people’s mental health. Diabetes drugs also rose, replacing inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, as the top drug claims category. Read: New guidelines on type 2 diabetes remission Prescribing activity for diabetes was driven by rising eligible amounts for people already diagnosed with diabetes. That’s partly because there was an increase in the use of more expensive second- and third-line therapy and partly because the weight loss benefits of some of these drugs are driving prescribing, both for people with diabetes and those without it. “The fact that growth in spend has been observed in a specific diabetes class of drugs suggests that existing claimants are switching to more costly therapies,” Lavina Viegas, pharmacist for TELUS Health, said in a press release. “My prediction for the future of the diabetes category is that there will be continued growth, especially with more products slated to hit the market that have shown good clinical efficacy in both diabetes and weight loss.” It also found a rise in prescription medications and insurance claims for kids under nine years old in 2022, as young children were exposed to infections like the flu, RSV and strep throat for the first time after pandemic precautions were ended. Read: U.S. FDA advisers back RSV vaccine for pregnant women that protects their newborns In addition, for the first time in over a decade, the growth rate for specialty drugs fell behind the growth of traditional drugs. That’s partly driven by growth in diabetes and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drugs. ADHD drugs for adults were the fastest growing area, and they’re poised to overtake antidepressants. In addition, for the first time, there were more adult claimants for ADHD than pediatric claimants, with the highest growth in 30- to 39-year-olds. Biosimilar switching policies also dampened costs, as biosimilars' share of claims for biologics grew from 4.2% in January 2019 to 32% in December 2022. Read: Biosimilars are equivalent to reference biologics in rheumatoid arthritis

Teenage antidepressant use rises: drug trends report

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