Kids’ use of digestive drugs rises

The number of young children on prescription drugs for heartburn and other digestive problems jumped about 56% in recent years, and researchers say obesity and overuse might be contributing to the surprising increase.

The surge was found in a Medco Health Solutions Inc. analysis released Thursday of U.S. prescription data for 2002 through 2006. It suggests that more than 2 million U.S. children 18 and younger used drugs for digestive or gastrointestinal complaints last year.

“It’s a signal that something’s going on that we need to keep an eye on,” said Dr. Robert Epstein, Medco’s chief medical officer. “Whether it’s parents getting their children diagnosed more frequently, or obesity,” or other factors, “it bears further study,” he said.

Researchers at Medco, a pharmacy benefits management company based in Franklin Lakes, N.J., analyzed prescription drug claims of more than 575,000 U.S. children. They calculated that 557,259 infants and children up to age 4, or about 3% of youngsters in that age range, were taking these drugs last year. That’s about a 56% increase from 2002.

There was a 31% increase among children ages 5 to 11, climbing to an estimated 551,653 children, or 2% in that age group in 2006, the analysis found.

Almost 1 million children ages 12 to 18 had prescriptions for the drugs last year, but that was up only 6% from 2002.