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ADHD Drug Use More Than Doubles in Teenagers

by Sokolove Law Staff on Sep 30 2011
Dangerous Drugs, Antidepressants, ADHD Drugs
   
By now, we’ve all heard of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a condition first recognized as a “distinct problem of childhood” in 1980 by the American Psychiatric Association. Now, three decades later, a new study shows that the number of children on prescription medications for the disorder continues to rise, especially among kids between the ages of 13 and 18, according to a HealthDay News report. The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) together with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality conducted the study and its results have been published in the Sept. 28 online edition of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

The results show the statistics in the number of ADHD medication prescriptions, such as those for Ritalin and Adderall, from 1996 to 2008. Although the age group identified as that with the highest use was 6 to 12, its prescription rate rose only slightly over the 12 years included in the study, from 4.2 percent to 5.1 percent. In teenagers, however, those between the ages of 13 and 18, the prescription rate more than doubled, from 2.3 percent to 4.9 percent.

In 2006, the FDA approved new, stronger warnings for ADHD prescription drugs, stating that the medications carry the risk sudden death and serious heart problems. Other side effects reported about ADHD drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall include paranoia, depression, slowing of growth, and seizures. With these side effects as risks, why is use among U.S. kids still on the rise?

One reason may be that more children have been diagnosed with ADHD in recent years than ever before. And as for the spike in teen use, study researcher Dr. Benedetto Vitiello of the National Institute of Mental Health may have that answer: "In the past, ADHD was primarily a concern of children in elementary school and middle school. 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."

Vitello added that the study’s findings “cannot tell us whether ADHD medications are being over-prescribed in kids, as some experts have claimed.”

Perhaps the problem lies more in over-diagnosis. In 2007, about 9.5 percent of children in the United States were diagnosed with ADHD. That’s nearly one in every ten children in the United States being diagnosed with ADHD. Experts in psychiatry and psychology have concerns about who is making the diagnoses.

Dave Traxson, an educational psychologist in the U.K., was cited in the HealthDay News article stating that due to an increasingly taxed medical system, health professionals without proper training and with less experience such as primary care physicians or pediatricians are diagnosing kids with mental health disorders such as ADHD and bipolar.

There are many other mental health disorders that may be confused with ADHD, including learning disorders, bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. If you or a loved one has suffered an ADHD drug injury, contact a dangerous drugs attorney at Sokolove Law today.

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