TABLE 1.
Medicaid-Reimbursed Psychotropic Medication Use Among Children With ASDs (N = 60 641)
| Parameter | Any Psychotropic Medication, % | ≥3 Concurrent Psychotropics, % | Psychotropic Medication Class, % |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antidepressant | Neuroleptic | Anxiolytic | Mood Stabilizer | Sedative | Stimulant | |||
| Total (n =60 641) | 56 | 11 | 25 | 31 | 12 | 21 | 3 | 22 |
| Gender | ||||||||
| Female (n =13 435) | 55 | 10 | 25 | 28 | 14 | 24 | 4 | 17 |
| Male (n =47 205) | 56 | 11 | 25 | 32 | 11 | 20 | 3 | 24 |
| Age, ya | ||||||||
| 0–2 (n =1009) | 18 | 0.1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
| 3–5 (n =10 119) | 32 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 13 |
| 6–11 (n =27 545) | 56 | 9 | 23 | 29 | 10 | 18 | 2 | 28 |
| 12–17 (n =17 164) | 67 | 17 | 34 | 42 | 15 | 29 | 3 | 23 |
| 18–21 (n =4804) | 73 | 20 | 39 | 49 | 23 | 39 | 6 | 9 |
| Ethnicitya | ||||||||
| Black (n =13 470) | 48 | 7 | 16 | 27 | 8 | 16 | 3 | 20 |
| Asian (n =642) | 43 | 4 | 15 | 22 | 10 | 14 | 3 | 13 |
| Latino (n =4075) | 50 | 8 | 18 | 28 | 11 | 17 | 3 | 19 |
| White (n =30 439) | 61 | 13 | 31 | 34 | 13 | 25 | 3 | 25 |
| Other (n =12 015) | 55 | 9 | 21 | 30 | 11 | 20 | 4 | 20 |
| Medicaid eligibilitya | ||||||||
| Disabled (n =43 535) | 58 | 11 | 25 | 32 | 13 | 23 | 4 | 21 |
| Poverty (n =11 240) | 44 | 7 | 20 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 23 |
| Foster Care (n =4445) | 71 | 20 | 36 | 45 | 13 | 31 | 3 | 35 |
| Other (n =1421) | 46 | 9 | 24 | 24 | 9 | 17 | 2 | 20 |
| Had an inpatient staya | ||||||||
| Yes (n =4232) | 81 | 26 | 40 | 54 | 27 | 51 | 8 | 28 |
| No (n =56 409) | 54 | 9 | 24 | 29 | 11 | 19 | 3 | 22 |
| No. of nonpharmacy ASD claimsa | ||||||||
| 1–30 claims (n =13 506) | 43 | 5 | 18 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 19 |
| 31–60 claims (n =15 537) | 54 | 9 | 24 | 29 | 10 | 17 | 2 | 23 |
| 61–124 claims (n =15 773) | 61 | 13 | 28 | 35 | 14 | 25 | 4 | 24 |
| ≥125 claims (n =15 825) | 63 | 14 | 28 | 37 | 17 | 30 | 5 | 23 |
| ASDsa | ||||||||
| Autism (n =37 576) | 53 | 8 | 21 | 28 | 13 | 20 | 4 | 17 |
| Asperger (n =23 065) | 61 | 14 | 30 | 35 | 10 | 23 | 2 | 31 |
| Other diagnosesb | ||||||||
| No other diagnosis (n =32 760)a | 39 | 4 | 16 | 18 | 8 | 13 | 3 | 12 |
| Schizophrenia (n =929)a | 94 | 40 | 56 | 88 | 28 | 59 | 6 | 22 |
| Bipolar (n =2149)a | 94 | 48 | 59 | 83 | 24 | 77 | 4 | 40 |
| Depression (n =2774)a | 90 | 35 | 69 | 68 | 19 | 45 | 4 | 36 |
| Attention deficit (n =12 445)a | 87 | 22 | 40 | 49 | 14 | 30 | 3 | 62 |
| Anxiety (n =1387)a | 83 | 23 | 58 | 52 | 24 | 31 | 4 | 30 |
| Conduct (n =8559)a | 82 | 25 | 43 | 60 | 18 | 40 | 4 | 36 |
| Mental retardationa | ||||||||
| Mild (n =3198) | 63 | 15 | 30 | 39 | 14 | 27 | 3 | 25 |
| Moderate (n =5748) | 72 | 16 | 28 | 45 | 21 | 36 | 7 | 17 |
| Severe (n =4082) | 71 | 15 | 28 | 45 | 20 | 34 | 6 | 20 |
a
Statistically significant at P <.002 based on random-effects model to account for clustering by county and state.
b
Children with each diagnosis or who saw each type of specialist are compared with those without that diagnosis.