Prescription medications used to treat children for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder do not increase their risk of potentially deadly heart attacks or strokes, a new study concludes. But at least one prominent critic says the study — funded by Shire, a pharmaceutical company that makes ADHD medications — is too limited to give much reassurance to parents.
An estimated 4.8 percent of U.S. children ages 4 to 17, or 2.7 million, took ADHD medications including Ritalin and Adderall in 2007, the most recent year for which data are available. The drugs, which are stimulants, have been linked to increased heart rate and blood pressure in children. But, according to the new study published in the journal Pediatrics, the rate of serious cardiovascular events in children who take them is “very low.”
In analyzing patient data contained in Medicaid databases from five states, researchers found no cases of heart attack or stroke among children who took the drugs.
Using a separate measure, researchers identified 1.79 sudden deaths per 10,000 person-years in children who received ADHD medications. But the rate was higher —3 sudden deaths per 10,000 person-years, a measure reflecting the number of patients affected over a period of time — in the control group of children who did not receive the drugs.
“These data provide reassurance that the thing most concerning – death – is not any higher in users of ADHD medications than non-users,” senior author Sean Hennessy of the University of Pennsylvania said in a news release. “For kids who will benefit from ADHD treatment, the potential risk of a cardiovascular event should not dissuade parents or caregivers from giving a child or adolescent these drugs.”
But Dr. Steven Nissen, a cardiovascular specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, told CBS News that he was worried the study “is providing false reassurance.” He said the research did not address whether long-term use of the drugs is risky. The patients in the study took ADHD drugs for a median of 135 days.
“Every time we have studied drugs that raise blood pressure and heart rate, we have found that they produce long-term cardiovascular harm,” Nissen said. “We have no reason to believe that these drugs will not do that.”
“If your child has been diagnosed with ADHD and needs these drugs, they should be used for the shortest possible time and the smallest effective dose,” he advised.
Separately, NBC News reports that college students are abusing Adderall, taking the medication because it helps them focus and pull all-nighters. One student said it gave him such a boost he was able to work non-stop for 10 hours a day. “It’s a highly addictive substance and when you play with addictive substances, you ultimately get burned,” a drug abuse counselor warned. “For all intents and purposes, Adderall is speed.”
