Wednesday, March 5, 2008

ADHD Drugs Won't Raise Risk of Substance Abuse

Parents of children who are prescribed psychostimulants for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) might have one less thing to worry about now that a new study concludes these kids are no more likely than their peers to abuse drugs and alcohol as young adults.

The report, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, is published in the March issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

"The results should reassure clinicians who might be hesitant to treat ADHD because of concerns about future substance abuse," said study co-author Michael C. Monuteaux, assistant director of research at the pediatric psychopharmacology program at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Past research looking for a link between ADHD medications and substance abuse has produced conflicting conclusions.

"Some previous studies showed an increased risk of substance abuse associated with stimulant treatment, and other studies showed both no association and also a protective effect from treatments," Monuteaux said. "But those studies had some methodological limitations, and not all of them followed their samples well into late adolescence and early adulthood."

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