Medication prescribed to people with ADHD not only helps them focus but it also reduces the risk of suicidal behaviours, substance misuse, transport accidents and criminality, a study has found.
It’s estimated 2.6 million people in the UK live with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which affects around 5 per cent of children and 2.5 per cent of adults worldwide. But in the UK, just over half are prescribed medication for it.
Researchers compared the impacts of medicating ADHD on those who have been recently diagnosed. Using data from Swedish national registers between 2007 and 2020 researchers at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, were able to examine the effects of ADHD drug treatment in 148,581 individuals aged between six and 64-years-old over two years.
Just over half (57 per cent) of participants had started drug treatment for ADHD, with methylphenidate – a type of stimulant – being the most commonly prescribed (88.4 per cent). However, the other people who were also newly diagnosed did not receive medication.
The study, published by the BMJ, assessed how often those with ADHD had suicidal behaviours, substance misuse, accidental injuries, transport accidents, and criminality, over two years after their diagnosis.
After accounting for factors including age, sex, education level, psychiatric diagnoses and medical history, ADHD medication was associated with a 17 per cent reduction for suicidal behaviour, 15 per cent for substance misuse, 12 per cent for transport accidents, and 13 per cent for criminality.
However, the reduction was not statistically significant for a first-time accidental injury.
But amongst people with recurrent events, the rate reductions associated with ADHD medication were seen for all five outcomes: a 15 per cent reduction for suicidal attempts, 25 per cent for substance misuse, 4 per cent for accidental injuries, 16 per cent for transport accidents, and 25 per cent for criminality.
Samuele Cortese Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Southampton and study author, highlighted that people need to be educated on the long-term risks of ADHD.
“Commonly people think ADHD is over diagnosed but there are still many people who have ADHD that are not diagnosed, and many are exposed to these risks,” he said.
“Side effects of medication can include reduced appetite and difficulty falling asleep, but they usually get better over time or they can be managed.”
Struggling to pay attention, having high energy levels and being impulsive are common symptoms of ADHD. Stimulants can work by increasing activity in the brain, particularly in areas that help control attention and behaviour, according to the NHS.
Study authors say that by reducing impulsivity, it may also lower criminality by curbing aggressive behaviour, and enhance attention, which might decrease the risk of transport accidents by minimising distractions.
“These results provide evidence on the effects of ADHD drug treatment on important health related and social outcomes that should inform clinical practice and the debate on the drug treatment of ADHD,” study authors conclude.
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