Study: Use of methylphenidate-based ADHD medication increases the risk of heart problems
ADHD medication enhances the risk of heart problems in children (Science Nordic):
“The risk of developing heart problems is twice as big for children taking medicine for Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) when compared to children not receiving the medicine…The study builds on data from 714,000 children born in 1990–1999…The study covered nearly all types of ADHD medicine. Methylphenidate-based medications account for 98 per cent of treatments. This group of medication is sold under the brands Concerta, Methylin, Ritalin, Equasym XL, Motiron and Medikinet…
To make sure that the measured difference was not due to the disorder itself, the scientists compared children with ADHD diagnosis, who were receiving medicine, with other ADHD diagnosed children, who were not receiving medicine.??The scientists found, that the hazard ratio for children receiving ADHD medicine was 120 per cent higher, than children not getting medicine…
Tine Houmann emphasises that doctors and parents should not be scared of results like those published in the study. “It is important that we do not become so afraid of rare side effects that we do not give medicine to children with ADHD. Because the problems and risks connected to unmedicated ADHD are severe. It can lead to addiction, crime and developing psychiatric diseases”…Søren Dalsgaard believes that his study confirms that doctors must think twice when prescribing ADHD medicine.”
Study: Cardiovascular Safety of Stimulants in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Nationwide Prospective Cohort Study (Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology)
- Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine whether stimulant users are at higher risk of a later cardiovascular event than are non-users, examining this association in both a national cohort and a population-based sample of children and adolescents diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)…We conducted a longitudinal, prospective cohort study of all children born in Denmark between 1990 and 1999. Within this cohort, children with ADHD were identified. Data from national health registers on psychiatric and somatic diagnoses, stimulant prescriptions, cardiovascular risk factors, pre- and perinatal and sociodemographic covariates in all children and their parents were merged, using the unique personal identification number…Results: In the total population (n=714,258 contributing a total of 6,767,982 person-years) use of stimulants increased the risk of a cardiovascular event. In children with ADHD (n=8300) stimulant treatment also increased the risk of a cardiovascular event…with a complex time-dependent dose-response relationship…Cardiovascular events were rare but twice as likely in stimulant users as in non-users, both in the total national population and in children with ADHD.
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