SynthesisEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry2019
Does methylphenidate improve academic performance? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in European child & adolescent psychiatry, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
38 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Are Reading Interventions Effective for At-Risk Readers with ADHD? A Meta-Analysis.Journal of attention disorders · 2023Pooled it
- Extended-release methylphenidate for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Using ADHD Medications to Treat Coexisting ADHD and Reading Disorders: A Systematic Review.Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2018Pooled it
- Methylphenidate (Ritalin) does not improve exam performance in an experimental setting.Psychopharmacology · 2026Trial
- The effect of stimulant medication on the learning of academic curricula in children with ADHD: A randomized crossover study.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2022Trial
- INTERSTAARS: Attention training for infants with elevated likelihood of developing ADHD: A proof-of-concept randomised controlled trial.Translational psychiatry · 2021Trial
- A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Two-Way Crossover Clinical Trial of ORADUR-Methylphenidate for Treating Children and Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology · 2021Trial
- Neurocognitive and behavioral predictors of the simple view of reading in clinically evaluated children with and without ADHD.Neuropsychology · 2026Article
- Exploring adolescents' and parents' experiences of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment in ADHD: a qualitative study.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Short Report: Intervention of Reading and Spelling Problems in Children With Co-Occurring Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Dyslexia.Dyslexia (Chichester, England) · 2026Article
- Academic Outcomes in Primary and Secondary School Students Prescribed Long-Acting Stimulants for ADHD Management.Journal of attention disorders · 2026Article
- Ritual to relief: ethical frontiers in repurposing psychoactive substances.CNS spectrums · 2025Review
- Cognitive Profiles are Better Predictors of Literacy Attainment Than Diagnostic Outcomes in Children with High ADHD Symptoms.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- Review
- Effects of methylphenidate on children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a study using clinical and multimodal approaches including go/no-go task and functional near-infrared spectroscopy.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Where do neurodevelopmental conditions fit in transdiagnostic psychiatric frameworks? Incorporating a new neurodevelopmental spectrum.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2024Article
- Examining the Use of VR as a Study Aid for University Students with ADHD.Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems. CHI Conference · 2024Article
- Key Questions on the Long-Term Utility of Methylphenidate in Paediatric Brain Tumour Survivorship: A Retrospective Clinical Case Series.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- An evidence gap map of interventions for noncommunicable diseases and risk factors among children and adolescents.Nature medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Academic improvement is amongst the most common treatment targets when prescribing stimulants to children with ADHD. Previous reviews on stimulant-related academic improvements are inconclusive and focus on task engagement. Recent literature suggests outcome-domain-specific medication effects that are larger for productivity than for accuracy. The aims of this study are quantifying methylphenidate effects on academic productivity and accuracy for math, reading, spelling; exploring the mediating or moderating effects of symptom improvements, demographic-, design- and disorder-related variables. PubMed, EMBASE, ERIC and PsycINFO were searched for articles reporting methylphenidate effects on academic productivity and accuracy. Thirty-four studies met entry criteria. Methylphenidate improved math productivity (7.8% increase, p < .001); math accuracy (3.0% increase, p = .001); increased reading speed (SMD .47, p < .001) but not reading accuracy. None of the mediators or moderators tested affected methylphenidate efficacy. Academic improvements were small compared to symptom improvements; qualitative changes limited to math. Clinicians should take this discrepancy into account when prescribing medication for ADHD.
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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.