Question 19580 — pharmacy and medicines

Summary

Mr. Éric Alauzet draws the attention of the Minister of Solidarity and Health to the increase in prescriptions of psychostimulants to “hyperactive” children. Doctors prescribe methylphenidate medications to children and adolescents affected by attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity syndrome. According to the Primary Health Insurance Fund, the number of boxes of psychostimulants reimbursed by Social Security increased from 503,956 in 2012 to 813,413 in 2017, an increase of more than 61% in just 5 years. However, the prescription of these drugs is far from harmless and medical studies evoke the dangerousness of these amphetamines while sometimes calling into question their effectiveness. Thus, according to the independent medical journal Prescrire: “According to a synthesis which brought together data from dozens of trials clinical, [...] after a few weeks of treatment, the effectiveness seems modest on symptoms, quality of life and school behavior. Long-term adverse effects have not been studied in comparative trials, although methylphenidate is known to cause serious cardiovascular and neuropsychological adverse effects. Furthermore, according to the results of a recent study carried out by a team of University of Copenhagen published in the medical journal Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, methylphenidate can cause hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms. In view of these elements, he asks her if she can tell him what measures will be taken to reduce the consumption of psychostimulants in children.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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