Those of us living in the United States are unlikely to know about health care in other countries unless we consciously seek to learn about it. And unless we seek out that knowledge, I think it’s fair to say that most of us assume that medical treatment in the U.S. (as opposed to the way it is paid for) is quite similar to what people receive in other western industrialized nations.
In many instances, there are substantial differences. One that comes to light in this article is the rate at which psychological medications are given to young people in the U.S. and in Europe.
Youngsters in the United States are three times likelier to be prescribed antidepressants and stimulants and twice as likely to be given antipsychotic drugs than counterparts in Germany and the Netherlands, according to a new study.
Prozac for depression and Ritalin for hyperactivity and attention deficit are singled out for specific mention.
There’s more:
In 2000, nearly seven percent of children in the US took psychotropics of some kind, while 2.9 and 2.0 percent, respectively, did so in the Netherlands and Germany, according to the study.
One in 12 of American children aged five to nine were taking these medications, four times the European levels …
Seeking explanations for the disparity on either side of the Atlantic, the study noted that direct-to-consumer drug advertising was allowed in the United States, but banned in Europe.
Cultural differences could also play a role, they suggest.
“The increased use of medication in the US reflects the individualist and activist therapeutic mentality of US medical culture,” Zito said.
Zito is a University of Maryland pharmacologist. Her term, “activist therapeutic mentality” is an interesting turn of a phrase. There’s nothing wrong with activism and nothing wrong with therapeutics. But when “activist therapeutics” equals “medicate the symptoms,” there’s a real problem.
The U.S. appears to be the world leader in this type of activist therapeutics.
