Psychotropic Polypharmacy Among Youth In Maryland Medicaid Rose 9.5% Between 2015 & 2020

In Maryland, rising numbers of children covered by Medicaid are taking multiple psychiatric medications (psychotropic polypharmacy). Between 2015 and 2020, Maryland youth aged 17 years or younger experienced 4% increased odds of psychotropic polypharmacy each year. Overall, the prevalence of psychotropic polypharmacy increased from 4.2% in 2015 to 4.6% in 2020. Psychotropic polypharmacy is defined as taking three or more different classes of psychiatric medications, including antidepressants, mood-stabilizing anticonvulsants, sedatives, and drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and anxiety drugs.

Among Medicaid youth in low-income households, the prevalence of psychotropic polypharmacy increased from 2.1 . . .