Antipsychotics: Is age an issue?

The effectiveness and risks of antipsychotic medication can vary depending on the age of the person taking it.

Children and teens

Antipsychotics can be used to treat children and teens with severe psychiatric disorders such as psychosis, bipolar disorder, Tourette’s syndrome, autism or severe aggression. Most often, psycho-therapy also has an important role. Children and teens are more likely than adults to experience side-effects from these medications, especially the second generation (atypical) antipsychotics.

Older adults

As people age into their 60s and older, they become more sensitive to medication and may require a lower dose. Being more sensitive also means that older people are more likely to experience side-effects than when they were younger. They are also more likely to have other medical problems and to be taking other medications, which could interact with antipsychotic drugs. Antipsychotics can increase the risk of falls, especially when taken with other drugs.

Tardive dyskinesia and other movement-related side-effects can develop in older adults who have used antipsychotics over a long period. Women are twice as likely as men to experience these effects.

Antipsychotic medications are sometimes used to calm older adults with psychosis related to dementia. However, use of antipsychotics by older adults has been associated with an increased risk of stroke. Other ways of calming the person should always be tried first, and when antipsychotics are needed, they should only be used until symptoms are relieved.

Contents:

Antipsychotics: Is age an issue?

Children and teens

Older adults

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