ADVERTISEMENT
People with attention/hyperactivity deficit disorder (ADHD) often know the side effects of drugs, in particular difficulties in sleeping, loss of appetite and irritability.
But a new study has highlighted other longer -term consequences. For people with whom ADHD has just been diagnosed, taking medication can lead to a significantly lower risk of suicidal behavior, alcohol or drug abuse, road accidents and criminal activities.
These results could be reassuring for the 5 % of children and 2.5 % of adults with ADHD, which may cause distractions, oversights, high energy levels, agitation and other problems. Symptoms generally appear before the age of 12.
The results “are extremely important from the point of view of public health and from the clinical point of view,” said Dr. Samuele Cortese, one of the study authors and professor at the University of Southampton, in the United Kingdom, during a press conference.
The study, published in the BMJ, focused on nearly 149,000 people aged 6 to 64 with ADHD diagnosis in Sweden between 2007 and 2020. The researchers compared people who started taking ADHD medication within three months of the diagnosis to those who did not start treatment, and followed them for two years on average.
Their objective was to imitate the design of a randomized controlled trial, in which some people receive the intervention tested – as a new drug – and others receive a placebo or a dummy treatment.
These trials are considered to be the ordeal of medical research, as they allow scientists to assess the effect of a new drug or new intervention.
Other research has highlighted a link between untreated ADHD and professional instability, anxiety, drug addiction and other problems.
But the absence of randomized trials did not prove that ADHD medication really reduced the risks. The latest study does not quite establish a causal link, but it gets closer.
ADHD drugs have been associated with a 17 % decrease in suicide risk, attempted suicide and suicidal thoughts, as well as a 15 % reduction in substance abuse, 12 % of transport accidents and 13 % of crime.
According to the researchers, the risk decrease could be explained by the fact that drugs reduce impulsiveness – which could slow crime by reducing aggressive behavior – and improve attention, which could minimize distractions and reduce the risk of car accident.
The study presents certain limits, in particular the fact that people may have recovered their medication against ADHD and not have taken them. The analysis does not include incidents either – for example, minor accidents – which were not serious enough to be recorded in medical or legal files.
Despite everything, Mr. Cortese believes that doctors should take these results into account when they discuss with their patients from possible treatment against deficitable attention with hyperactivity.
“When doctors discuss potential use [de médicaments]they focus on the type of medication and side effects-that should not be underestimated-but often there is no information on the risks involved if you don’t take “drugs, he said.
“I think it is important to take into account that if the problem is not dealt with, there can be regrettable risks, and we now have proof that drugs can help reduce these risks.”
If you plan to commit suicide and need to speak, do not hesitate to contact Befrienders Worldwide, an international organization with lines of assistance in 32 countries. Visit the Befrienders.org site to find the phone number corresponding to your geographic location.
Additional sources • Adaptation: Serge Duchêne
