Children's antibiotic prescriptions fall while ADHD and antidepressant use surges among teens

A joint Kela–Tampere University analysis of 2017–2025 prescription data found antibiotic prescriptions for children fell from 29.8 percent in 2017 to 23.7 percent in 2025, a decline partly attributed to fewer infections during the COVID pandemic. Antibiotics remain the largest drug group for children. Only amoxicillin‑clavulanic acid bucked the downward trend. Kela research director Heini Kari described the overall antibiotic situation as positive but urged continued restraint to limit resistance. Tampere University docent Péter Csonka said prescribing has shifted from treating ear and lung infections in childhood to managing brain function and mood symptoms in adolescence.

Use of central nervous system drugs rose from 10.7 percent to 15.5 percent overall, with the increase concentrated among older teens: 22 percent of 17‑year‑olds used these medicines in 2025. ADHD treatment patterns changed most sharply; methylphenidate use more than tripled and lisdexamfetamine grew more than eightfold. Sertraline prescriptions quadrupled and fluoxetine nearly doubled. The analysis draws on Kanta prescription records covering about a million children annually (more than 1.3 million individuals and 21 million dispensed prescriptions in total), providing an unprecedented national picture of pediatric medication exposure.

In Tampere, the children's home hospital is expanding home intravenous antibiotic treatment using portable infusion pumps, allowing more children to finish IV antibiotics at home the children's home hospital's use of infusion pumps. Earlier Tampere research has linked poor physical fitness in young people to higher rates of depression, anxiety and ADHD, a local context relevant to rising psychiatric medication use a Tampere study on fitness and mental health.