USE OF PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS IN ADULTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY: ENCOURAGING RESULTS FROM A RECENT AMERICAN STUDY

Until now, the scientific literature on the use of psychoactive drugs in people with intellectual disability (ID) has always indicated the presence of approximate and highly variable criteria. The treatments were prescribed mainly to manage problem behaviors. Some important developments come from a recent study of 4,069 adults with ID and autism spectrum disorders of the state of New York. In this study, half of the requirements were motivated by the presence of a primary psychiatric disorder, 13% from the need to control serious problem behaviors and 38% by a combination of these two diagnoses. The frequency of prescription use was similar to that of previous studies: 58% (2,361 / 4,069) received one or more psychotropic drugs. However, there are more positive developments for the type of drug chosen: 6% was treated with a typical antipsychotic, 39% with an atypical, 23% with antidepressants, mood stabilizers, with 19%, 16% and with antianxiety the only '1-2% with anti-impulsive, stimulants and hypnotics. Therefore, the results of this large-scale study, conducted by Dr. Tsiouris and his collaborators of the State of New York Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, indicate that in the population with intellectual disabilities the presence of a primary psychiatric disorder with the exception of anxiety disorders and autism, affects the use and the amount of psychotropic drugs taken. Another important factor is that antipsychotics, despite being still the most widely prescribed drugs, are leaving room for other classes of drugs. What matters most is that clinicians are learning to use psychotropic drugs primarily to treat psychiatric disorders diagnosed correctly and not only to control aggressive behavior, which suggests that evidence-based psychiatric practice is gaining increasing importance also with intellectual disabilities. It is hoped that similar data can be detected soon in Italy.

REFERENCES

Tsiouris JA, Kim SY, Brown WT, Pettinger J, Cohen IL. Prevalence of Psychotropic Drug Use in Adults with Intellectual Disability: Positive and Negative Findings from a Large Scale Study. J Autism Dev Disord. 2012 Jul 25. [Epub ahead of print]