ADHD medication reduces risk of suicide and criminal behaviour, study finds

Medicine prescribed to people with ADHD Helping them not only to concentrate, but this also reduces the risk of suicidal behavior, abuse of substances, transport accidents and crime, a study revealed.

It is estimated that 2.6 million people in the United Kingdom live with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which affects around 5% of children and 2.5% of adults worldwide. But in the United Kingdom, just over half are prescribed medicine For that.

The researchers compared the impacts of Medicative TDAH on those who have been recently diagnosed. Use of data from Swedish national registers between researchers from 2007 and 2020 Karolinska InstituteSweden has been able to examine the effects of ADHD Medication treatment in 148,581 people aged six to 64 over two years.

A little more than half (57%) of the participants had started the drug treatment of ADHD, with methylphenidate – a type of stimulant – being the most commonly prescribed (88.4%). However, the other people who have also been newly diagnosed have not received medicine.

The study, published by the BMJ, evaluated at what frequency those with ADHD had suicidal behaviors, abuse of substances, accidental injuries, transport accidents and crime, more than two years after their diagnosis.

After counting factors such as age, sex, level of education, psychiatric diagnoses and medical history, ADHD medication was associated with a 17% reduction for suicidal behavior, 15% for substance abuse, 12% for transport accidents and 13% for crime.

However, the reduction was not statistically significant for an accidental first injury.

But among people with recurring events, rate reductions associated with ADHD medication were observed for five results: a 15% reduction for suicidal attempts, 25% for substance abuse, 4% for accidental injuries, 16% for transport accidents and 25% for crime.

Samuele Cortese Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Southampton and author of the study, people stressed that people must be informed of the long -term risks of ADHD.

“People usually think that ADHD is too diagnosed, but there are still many people who have ADHD who are not diagnosed, and many are exposed to these risks,” he said.

“The side effects of drugs can include reduced appetite and difficulty falling asleep, but they generally improve over time or they can be managed.”

It is difficult to be careful, to have high energy levels and to be impulsive are current symptoms of ADHD. Stimulants can work by increasing activity in the brain, especially in areas that help control attention and behavior, according to the NHS.

Study authors claim that by reducing impulsiveness, it can also reduce crime by slowing down aggressive behavior and improving attention, which could decrease the risk of transport accidents by minimizing distractions.

“These results provide evidence on the effects of the drug treatment of ADHD on important health and social results which should clarify clinical practice and the debate on the drug treatment of ADHD,” conclude study authors.