PURPOSE: Depression affects approximately 2-8% of all children and adolescents, 
and treatment of depression in children and adolescents has been the center of 
recent serious debates. We examined national trends in depression visits and 
treatment among outpatients aged 7 to 17 years.
METHODS: We analyzed visit-based data between 1995 and 2002 in two national 
ambulatory care surveys.
RESULTS: The number of visits by children and adolescents during which 
depression was reported more than doubled from 1995-1996 (1.44 million) to 
2001-2002 (3.22 million). The proportion of these visits during which 
antidepressants were prescribed rose slightly from 47% in 1995-1996 to 52% in 
2001-2002, whereas the proportion during which psychotherapy or mental health 
counseling was provided declined from 83% to 68%. Selective serotonin reuptake 
inhibitors (SSRI) represented 76% of all antidepressants prescribed in 1995-1996 
and 81% in 2001-2002. In absolute terms, SSRIs were reported in 1.35 million 
visits in 2001-2002, reflecting a 2.6-fold increase from 1995-1996. Fluoxetine 
was prescribed in 207,914 visits in 1995-1996 and increased 100% to 415,580 
visits in 2001-2002. The use of sertraline increased by 62% to 345,576 visits 
and paroxetine by 269% to 279,275 visits.
CONCLUSIONS: We observed a declining trend in the provision of 
psychotherapy/mental health counseling during outpatient visits by children and 
adolescents diagnosed with depression. Although the likelihood of receiving 
antidepressants remained essentially unchanged, the number of children and 
adolescents whose visits involved prescription of antidepressants, particularly 
SSRIs, has increased markedly through 2002. Although fluoxetine remained the 
most commonly prescribed, other SSRIs were increasingly prescribed through 2002. 
These trends raise concerns regarding the widespread off-label use of 
antidepressants lacking reliable evidence of safety and efficacy for use in 
children and adolescents.