Table 2.
Prescribing details of cohort with autistic spectrum disorder
| Drug group | Number of patients prescribed (%) | Number of prescriptions (%) | Mean number of prescriptions/patient (SD) | Number of males (%) | Number of prescriptions to males (%) | Mean no. of prescriptions/male patient (SD) | Number of females (%) | Number of prescriptions to females (%) | Mean number of prescriptions/ female patient (SD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stimulants | 446 (27.5) | 10,981 (23.0) | 24.6 (26.8) | 406 (30.9) | 10,159 (27.5) | 25.0 (27.0) | 40 (13.0) | 822 (7.6) | 20.6 (24.2) |
| Antidepressants | 350 (21.6) | 5,183 (10.9) | 14.8 (19.1) | 263 (20.0) | 3,918 (10.6) | 14.9 (19.8) | 87 (28.3) | 1,265 (11.8) | 14.5 (16.8) |
| Antipsychotics | 415 (25.6) | 7,934 (16.6) | 19.1 (24.3) | 329 (25.1) | 6,105 (16.5) | 18.6 (22.9) | 86 (28.0) | 1,829 (17.0) | 21.3 (29.0) |
| Antiepileptics and mood stabilisers | 360 (22.2) | 15,868 (33.2) | 44.1 (61.4) | 254 (19.4) | 10,651 (28.8) | 41.9 (60.9) | 106 (34.5) | 5,217 (48.5) | 49.2 (62.5) |
| Benzodiazepines | 275 (17.0) | 1,570 (3.3) | 5.7 (12.2) | 195 (14.9) | 934 (2.5) | 4.8 (11.6) | 80 (26.1) | 636 (5.9) | 8.0 (13.3) |
| Clonidine | 30 (1.9) | 395 (0.8) | 13.2 (15.2) | 27 (2.1) | 389 (1.1) | 14.4 (15.6) | 3 (1.0) | 6 (0.1) | 2.0 (1.0) |
| Sleep medication | 550 (34.0) | 4,735 (9.9) | 8.6 (13.1) | 468 (35.7) | 4,027 (10.9) | 8.6 (13.0) | 82 (26.7) | 708 (6.6) | 8.6 (13.5) |
| Beta-blockers | 36 (2.2) | 312 (0.7) | 8.7 (15.5) | 28 (2.1) | 249 (0.7) | 8.9 (16.8) | 8 (2.6) | 63 (0.6) | 7.9 (10.3) |
| Other | 78 (4.8) | 760 (1.6) | 9.7 (15.5) | 56 (4.3) | 551 (1.5) | 9.8 (16.9) | 22 (7.2) | 209 (1.9) | 9.5 (11.5) |
| Antiparkinsonism drugs | 43 (2.7) | 635 (1.3) | 14.8 (19.1) | 32 (2.4) | 472 (1.3) | 14.8 (20.8) | 11 (3.6) | 163 (1.5) | 14.8 (13.8) |
| Any study drug | 1,619 (100.0) | 47,738 (100.0) | 29.5 (48.2) | 1,312 (100.0) | 36,983 (100.0) | 28.2 (45.0) | 307 (100.0) | 10,755 (100.0) | 35.0 (59.7) |