It isn’t just obesity that increases the risk of our children developing diabetes-it’s the drugs they are given to treat their ADHD (attention-deficit, hyperactivity disorder), too.
Four ‘atypical’ antipsychotic drugs triple the risk of a child developing type 2 diabetes, the so-called lifestyle disease that can lead to heart problems, researchers have discovered.
The drugs-Risperdal (risperidone), Seroquel (quetiapine), Abilify (aripiprazol) and Zyprexa (olanzapine)-are routinely prescribed to treat children with attention, behavioural or mood problems, commonly called ADHD.
The drugs triple the risk in the first year, and the risk increases the longer they are taken or dosage is increased, say researchers from the Vanderbilt University Medical Centre. The researchers say that children at highest risk were also overweight, and alternatives to the antipsychotics should be explored.
(Source: JAMA Psychiatry, 2013; doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.2053).
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