Injuries, addictions or even infections with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Researchers at Princeton University (in the United States) have just demonstrated that drug treatment against hyperactivity reduces the risk behaviors associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
“ADHD is such a widespread problem, yet no one was able to give a formal answer on the long-term effect of the drugs used in its treatment,” says Anna Chorniy, co-author of the study* with Professor Kitashima.
Diagnosed generally before the age of 12, ADHD affects 3.5 to 5.6% of school children in France. It is treated either by a psychological approach (90% of them), or by a medicinal approach (10%).
The main concern with this second option is at the level of the prescribed drug, Ritalin, which often worries parents. Indeed, many wonder if its long-term effectiveness justifies its side effects such as insomnia or migraines.
Overdiagnosis, a growing problem
The results of the new US study are tentative but sufficient to dispel doubts about the long-term effect of ADHD drug treatment. Compared to children diagnosed without medication, the risks of contracting an STD in younger treated children were reduced by 3.6%, those of having a drug addiction by 7.3% and the risks of injury by 2 .3%.
On another level, the over-diagnosis of the disease in recent years has made specialists jump. They denounce a detection protocol that is sometimes too lax. An American study of Northwestern University, published in 2012, estimated the increase in the number of diagnoses at nearly 66% in 10 years! A finding confirmed by several other studies**.
Much research is still needed to determine the exact effects of treatment on the health and behavior of children with ADHD. These positive conclusions are first good news for all parents who were previously skeptical.
* – Sex, Drugs, and ADHD: The Effects of ADHD Pharmacological Treatment on Teens’ Risky Behaviors, Anna Chorniy & Leah Kitashima.
** – The Rise of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Brandeis University. Misdiagnosis attention deficit hyperactivity disorder?
Empirical findings concerning possible overdiagnosis, Katrin Bruchmüller & Silvia Schneider.
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Hyperactivity: the precautions for use of Ritalin
Attention deficit and hyperactivity: how to spot them
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