ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2015
Peak ages of risk for starting nonmedical use of prescription stimulants.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Methylphenidate for children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- The ASAM/AAAP Clinical Practice Guideline on the Management of Stimulant Use Disorder.Journal of addiction medicineGuideline
- Alcohol-related cognitions: Implications for concurrent alcohol and marijuana use and concurrent alcohol and prescription stimulant misuse among young adults.Addictive behaviors · 2021Trial
- COVID-19 Pandemic and Sleep Health in Polish Female Students.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Comparison of serious adverse effects of methylphenidate, atomoxetine and amphetamine in the treatment of ADHD: an adverse event analysis based on the FAERS database.BMC pharmacology & toxicology · 2025Article
- Cigarette and e-cigarette use trajectories and prospective prescription psychotherapeutic drug misuse among adolescents and young adults.Addictive behaviors · 2023Article
- Addressing adolescent substance use with a public health prevention framework: the case for harm reduction.Annals of medicine · 2022Review
- Use of Alcohol, Cannabinoids, Psychostimulants, and Sedatives before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Students in 40 European Countries.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Stimulant misuse among youth.Current problems in pediatric and adolescent health care · 2022Review
- Investigating sex differences and the effect of drug exposure order in the sensory reward-enhancing effects of nicotine and d-amphetamine alone and in combination.Neuropharmacology · 2022Article
- Exposure to Medicines in the Family Medicine Cabinet: Is It a Harbinger of Later Opioid Dependence?Substance use & misuse · 2020Article
- Prescription Drug Misuse: Taking a Lifespan Perspective.Substance abuse : research and treatment · 2020Review
- International Consensus Statement on Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment of Substance Use Disorder Patients with Comorbid Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.European addiction research · 2018Article
- Developmental course of non-medical use of prescription drugs from adolescence to adulthood in the United States: national longitudinal data.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2016Article
- Prescription stimulant medication misuse: Where are we and where do we go from here?Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2016Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issuedMeier, E A Austic Formerly E A [corrected to Austic, E A]
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTo produce population-level, year- and age-specific risk estimates of first time nonmedical use of prescription stimulants among young people in the United States.
methodsData are from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health 2004-2012; a nationally representative probability sample survey administered each year. Subpopulations included youths aged 12 to 21 years (n=240,160) who had not used prescription stimulants nonmedically prior to their year of survey assessment. A meta-analytic approach was used to produce population-level age-, year-, and cohort-specific risk estimates of first time nonmedical use of prescription stimulants.
resultsPeak risk of starting nonmedical use of prescription stimulants was concentrated between ages 16 and 19 years, when an estimated 0.7% to 0.8% of young people reported nonmedical use of these medicines for the first time in the past twelve months. Smaller risk estimates ranging from 0.1% to 0.6% were observed at ages 12 to 15 years and 20 to 21 years. Compared with males, females were more likely to have started nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (odds ratio=1.35; 95% CI, 1.13-1.62), particularly between the ages of 14 and 19. Females showed a peak annual incidence rate of 1% at age 18, while males the same age showed an incidence rate of 0.5%.
conclusionsPeak annual incidence rates for nonmedical use of prescription stimulants were observed between the ages of 16 and 19 years. There is reason to initiate interventions during the earlier adolescent years to prevent youths from starting nonmedical use of prescription stimulants.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.