This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

More and more children take medicines to treat depression andother problems such as aggressiveness and lack of self-control. Infact, a new study says Americans spent more on behavior-relateddrugs for children last year than on antibiotics or asthmamedicines. The research shows that spending increased seventy-sevenpercent between two-thousand and two-thousand-three.

One reason was increased use. The report says the number ofchildren on behavioral drugs increased more than twenty percent. Butthese medicines also cost more than traditional drugs for problemslike infections. And patients usually stay on behavioral medicineslonger.

The report is by a company that administers drug plans for healthcare providers around the country. Medco Health Solutions studiedthe records of three-hundred-thousand young people up to agenineteen. It found that among children who take at least onemedicine from their doctor, nearly nine percent are on abehavior-related drug. Medco says five percent of all children inthe United States take behavioral medicine.

Some of the largest increases involve medicines to treatattention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. The study says spendingfor such drugs last year increased three-hundred-sixty-nine percentfor children under age five. Companies have been developing newtreatments for children who have difficulty learning and stayingcalm.

Also, Medco says spending for anti-depressants for children grewtwenty-five percent between two-thousand and last year. Use of thesedrugs increased by twenty-seven percent.

Some parents say anti-depressants and other behavioral drugs haveimproved their children's lives. But others worry that too manyyoung people are being given such medicines and that some drugscould be harmful.

In March, the United States Food and Drug Administration askedmakers of anti-depressants to include a warning statement. Theagency says health care providers should carefully observe adultsand children who take these drugs.

Scientists are investigating the possibility that some patientsmight become more depressed and try to kill themselves. This mightbe especially true at the beginning of treatment or when the amountof medicine is increased or decreased.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by JerilynWatson.