Dataset Information

The 10-year trend in drug prescriptions for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Germany.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

The aim of this study was to analyse whether the global trend in drug prescriptions for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), as observed during the last years and often criticized as medicalization, have remained stable or shifted.

Methods

This observational study was based on a secondary analysis of data from a large German database including patients with an ADHD diagnosis between 2008 and 2018. Prescription data comprised all important ADHD drugs.

Results

A total of 620 practices delivered data from a total of 77,504 patients (31% of them females) with a diagnosis of AHDH. Nearly 38% (29,396/77,504) of all patients received, at least, one prescription for an ADHS medicine between 2008 and 2018. The number of patients receiving a drug steadily increased annually until 2012 and then slowly fell, but unevenly distributed across the age groups. While the number of younger patients (?? 16 years) receiving a prescription fell by 24% and the defined daily doses (DDDs) remained stable, the number of patients between 17 and 24 years receiving a prescription increased by 113% and the DDDs by 150%. Respectively, the number of older adults (??25 years) with a prescription increased by 355% and the DDDs by 515%. Nearly one-third of older adults received an ADHD medicine only once.

Conclusion

The ever-increasing prescription of ADHD medicines stopped some years ago for children. ADHS and its pharmacological management are increasingly observed among older adolescents and adults, with a different pattern of drug persistence compared with children.

SUBMITTER: Grimmsmann T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7782395 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

The 10-year trend in drug prescriptions for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Germany.

Grimmsmann Thomas T Himmel Wolfgang W

European journal of clinical pharmacology 20200817 1

<h4>Purpose</h4>The aim of this study was to analyse whether the global trend in drug prescriptions for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), as observed during the last years and often criticized as medicalization, have remained stable or shifted.<h4>Methods</h4>This observational study was based on a secondary analysis of data from a large German database including patients with an ADHD diagnosis between 2008 and 2018. Prescription data comprised all important ADHD drugs.<h4>Result ...[more]

PMID: 32803292

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Project description:While psychiatric comorbidities of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been extensively explored, less attention has been paid to somatic conditions possibly associated with this disorder. However, mounting evidence in the last decade pointed to a possible significant association between ADHD and certain somatic conditions, including obesity. This papers provides an update of a previous systematic review on the relationship between obesity and ADHD (Cortese and Vincenzi, Curr Top Behav Neurosci 9:199-218, 2012), focusing on pertinent peer-reviewed empirical papers published since 2012. We conducted a systematic search in PubMed, Ovid, and Web of Knowledge databases (search dates: from January 1st, 2012, to July 16th, 2016). We retained a total of 41 studies, providing information on the prevalence of obesity in individuals with ADHD, focusing on the rates of ADHD in individuals with obesity, or reporting data useful to gain insight into possible mechanisms underlying the putative association between ADHD and obesity. Overall, over the past 4 years, an increasing number of studies have assessed the prevalence of obesity in individuals with ADHD or the rates of ADHD in patients with obesity. Although findings are mixed across individual studies, meta-analytic evidence shows a significant association between ADHD and obesity, regardless of possible confounding factors such as psychiatric comorbidities. An increasing number of studies have also addressed possible mechanisms underlying the link between ADHD and obesity, highlighting the role, among others, of abnormal eating patterns, sedentary lifestyle, and possible common genetic alterations. Importantly, recent longitudinal studies support a causal role of ADHD in contributing to weight gain. The next generation of studies in the field should explore if and to which extent the treatment of comorbid ADHD in individuals with obesity may lead to long-term weight loss, ultimately improving their overall well-being and quality of life.

Dataset Information

The 10-year trend in drug prescriptions for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Germany.

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

The 10-year trend in drug prescriptions for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Germany.

Similar Datasets

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