Pediatric prescription drug trends in Finland

Recent research from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) and the University of Tampere indicates significant shifts in prescription drug trends among children in Finland between 2017 and 2025.

Data shows a notable decline in antibiotic use among children under 18, dropping from 29.8% in 2017 to 23.7% in 2025. This decrease was particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. While most common antibiotics saw usage declines, the use of broad-spectrum amoxicillin-clavulanate remained steady.

Conversely, there has been a sharp increase in the use of drugs affecting the central nervous system (CNS), which experienced the highest relative growth among all drug categories. Specifically, the proportion of boys aged 6–8 starting ADHD medication more than doubled since 2017, reaching 3.1% in 2025. This brings the total percentage of boys in that age group receiving treatment to 5.3%, a rate higher than neighboring Sweden. Significant regional disparities exist, with North Karelia reporting a 12.9% rate of boys starting medication compared to 2.6% in Helsinki.