But there are some problems here. For starters, the graphic NYT used to show that 40 percent of campers take prescription drugs came not from a rigorous research study but from data supplied by a company called CampMeds that distributes prepakaged medication to summer camps. Leave aside for a second the obvious interest CampMeds has in overhyping the number of kids taking drugs. Its data is based on the limited sample of 100 camps it serves (the American Camp Association has over 6,700 members and accredits some 2,300 summer camps nationwide), and it's quite likely the camps that find it worth their $$ to hire CampMeds have a disproportionate number of kids taking prescription medication.
Further, the data provided by CampMeds and the NYT graphic don't match with public data available from other, more rigorous sources. For example, NYT's graph has 8 percent of kids at camp taking ADHD meds. But a study from the Centers for Disease Control found just under 8 percent of kids ages 4-17 had ever had ADHD diagnosed, and only 4.3 percent of kids were currently taking meds for it.
And then there's the fact that the chart itself doesn't match with the angle of the article, which starts with this humdinger:
The breakfast buffet at Camp Echo starts at a picnic table covered in gingham-patterned oil cloth. Here, children jostle for their morning medications: Zoloft for depression, Abilify for bipolar disorder, Guanfacine for twitchy eyes and a host of medications for attention deficit disorder.
Funny how not a single asthma or allergy drug is mentioned, despite it being far more common for kids to take drugs for these conditions than for depression or ADHD. But I've given up expecting problems that disproportionately affect poor and minority kids to make the front page of the NYT. That just doesn't sell papers like the "they're drugging the [white, affluent] kids" hysteria does.
It's not that I think we should be handing out meds like candy. When the numbers of kids taking psychiatric drugs have increased dramatically and we now have more kids diagnosed with ADHD than asthma (despite rapid growth of both), I think we should wonder what the heck is going on. I'm particularly concerned if, as the NYT article suggests (I'm taking the whole thing with a grain of salt), a lot of kids are getting prescribed these meds from their family doctor or general pediatrician, rather than a psychiatrist. Some of these drugs can have serious side-effects and/or haven't been tested in children. People taking them need good medical supervision by a psychiatrist who can adjust dosages, address side-effects, monitor for signs of trouble, etc. Of course, psychiatrists are damn expensive, and most insurance companies (if you've even got health insurance) are very reluctant to pay for mental health care, to say the least--all factors that work against kids or adults getting good care for these conditions. I'm also a bit concerned the "overmedication" hype may make some parents hesitant to get their kids treatment they need--with potentially tragic results in some cases.
It also bothers me that media, policymakers, and educators are paying so much more attention to the "overmedication" issue than the at least as, if not more, serious problem of kids who aren't getting enough maintenance medication and other treatment for their asthma. Asthma is the third leading cause of hospitalization for kids under 15, it accounts for 14 million days of missed school annually, and the number of kids dying from asthma has trippled since 1979. Many of these negative consequences could be avoided with proper preventative health care and maintenance education and medication for kids with asthma, but since poor and minority kids are both disproportionately diagnosed with asthma and less likely to have access to good health care, a lot of them don't get the preventative treatment they need. There are some interesting things going on around the country to build awareness and help address this problem, but it's still a big one, both for schools and for health care policy. It's also the kind of issue I'd love to see a front page Times story about--but I'm not holding my breath.
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