ADHD Drug Use Rates Increase

Official statistics from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) indicate that the use of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication has been growing steadily throughout the United States.

The government report shows that the growth has been slow, yet steady. Interestingly, it determined that geography appears to play an important role in the way consumption rates are distributed throughout the country.

Some regions and ethnicities tend to increase their usage of drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin, whereas others display decreases in usage rates. NIMH experts collaborated with colleagues from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) for this investigation.

Details of the report were published in the latest issue of the esteemed American Journal of Psychiatry. Officially, ADHD is now widely thought of as one of the most common childhood disorders. Studies have shown that it can also stretch into adolescence and adulthood.

The most common ways of addressing ADHD include the use of methylphenidate-based chemicals such as Ritalin, amphetamine derivatives such as Addreall, and behavioral therapies. The latter are also efficient to some extent.

In the 1990s, drug usage rates literally spiked out of control, but later subdued around 2002. Since, these rates have begun to increase again, but a lot slower than before. The number of ADHD diagnosis and drug prescriptions has been increasing steadily as well.

Back in 2003, about 7.8 percent of 4 to 17 olds in the US were diagnosed with ADHD. That percentage rose to 9.5 in 2007, which is the last year for which the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) National Survey of Children’s Health has accurate, complete data.

“Stimulant medications work well to control ADHD symptoms, but they are only one method of treatment for the condition. Experts estimate that about 60 percent of children with ADHD are treated with medication,” expert Benedetto Vitiello, MD, explains.

He holds an appointment as a research scientist at the NIMH, and was also one of the leaders of the team that conducted the new study. The scientist collaborated closely with colleague Samuel Zuvekas PhD from the AHRQ.

“This continuous increase among teens likely reflects a recent realization that ADHD often persists as children age. They do not always grow out of their symptoms,” Vitiello concludes, quoted by PsychCentral.