Childhood stimulant treatment not associated with future illicit drug use

Source/disclosure information Disclosure: McCabe did not report related financial disclosures. See this study for relevant financial disclosures of all other authors. Add Topics to Email Alerts Get an email when new articles are posted Enter your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted. . " data-action"subscribe"> Subscribe Your request could not be processed. Please try again later.If this issue persists, please contact us customerservice@slackinc.com. back to helio Important points: Adolescents who took prescribed stimulants as children were less likely to use illicit drugs than other adolescents. The results of this study may bring some 'peace of mind' to parents of children with ADHD and other disabilities. Adolescents who used prescribed stimulants as children were no more likely than other adolescents to use illicit drugs later on, according to a study published in . JAMA network open. Previous studies have shown that behaviors such as binge eating, smoking, and marijuana use at the age of 18 associated with Misuse of prescription drugs is more likely later in life. “Previous studies have shown that ADHD is associated with an increased risk of illicit drug use,” Dr. Sean Esteban McCabe, director of the Center for Research on Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health at the University of Michigan, told Helio. rice field. McCabe and colleagues previously found that stimulants such as those used to treat ADHD are being abused. more than 25% in some schools. “Deaths from stimulant-related overdose have increased tenfold, largely due to illicit stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine, and prescription stimulants play a role in starting illicit stimulant use. It calls into question the role.",” Mr McCabe said. “We were interested in studying this link so that we can identify and address drug use before it becomes a big problem.” The researchers surveyed a nationally representative sample of 5,034 high school seniors aged 17 and 18 who responded to the Center's annual Monitoring the Future survey. Of these, 10.2% reported using stimulant therapy to treat ADHD, 14.6% reported misusing prescribed stimulants only, and 75.2% reported neither, serving as controls. The researchers followed the participants every other year for 6 years to assess their risk of transitioning to cocaine or methamphetamine in young adulthood. Researchers found that adolescents who reported taking methamphetamine as teenagers were no more likely than other adolescents to use illicit drugs as young adults. However, 20% of teens who misused prescribed stimulants in high school began using cocaine or methamphetamine in adolescence, and 34% of teens who misused prescribed stimulants 10 or more times. used cocaine or methamphetamine during adolescence. "We found an increased risk of later transitioning to cocaine and methamphetamine in teens who used stimulant therapy to treat ADHD compared with those who did not take stimulants prescribed for ADHD. The fact that we weren't beaten was reassuring," McCabe said. "By contrast, teens who self-administered prescribed stimulants without medical supervision were significantly more likely to transition to cocaine or methamphetamine during adolescence." McCabe said the investigation was "at a critical time." "Our findings suggest that for parents of children taking stimulant drugs for the treatment of ADHD, as children enter young adulthood and become more independent, these drugs may be more effective than cocaine or methamphetamine. It should be comforting to parents who are worried that it could lead to illegal meth," McCabe said. References: McCabe SE, et al. JAMA Net Open. 2023; doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.22650. Stimulatory therapy for ADHD in teens does not increase the risk of subsequent cocaine or methamphetamine use. https://news.umich.edu/stimulant-therapy-for-adhd-in-teens-doesnt-increase-risk-of-cocaine-or-methamphetamine-use-later/. Published July 11, 2023. Accessed 11 July 2023. Add Topics to Email Alerts Get an email when new articles are posted Enter your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted. . " data-action"subscribe"> Subscribe Your request could not be processed. Please try again later.If this issue persists, please contact us customerservice@slackinc.com. back to helio Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://www.healio.com/news/pediatrics/20230711/stimulant-therapy-in-childhood-not-associated-with-future-illicit-drug-use The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article