New research suggests that treatment with methylphenidate, sold as “Ritalin” and other trade names, or other stimulants may help prevent the development of additional psychiatric disorders, as well as improve school performance, in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
While numerous studies have shown that stimulant therapy for ADHD produces marked improvements in core symptoms, the impact, if any, on the development of other mental disorders was unclear, according to the report in the current issue of Pediatrics.
Dr. Joseph Biederman, from Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues investigated this topic further in 112 patients with ADHD, who were 6 to 18 years of age. Seventy-three percent of the subjects were treated with stimulants, the report indicates.
After 10 years of follow-up, Biederman’s group found that stimulant users were 78 percent less likely to develop major depression, 80 percent less likely to develop multiple anxiety disorders, and 79 percent less likely to develop conduct disorder or oppositional-defiant disorder than were nonusers. All of these differences were statistically significant.
Children treated with stimulants were also 75 percent less likely to repeat a grade compared with their untreated peers, the authors note.
“Our study provides novel evidence that stimulant treatment is associated with a lower risk for the subsequent development of psychopathology and grade retention,” the investigators conclude.
“If confirmed by clinical trials, these findings could assist clinicians in treatment planning and forecasting prognosis for youth with ADHD, and could contribute to our understanding of the trajectories leading to these disorders.”
SOURCE: Pediatrics July 2009.