Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31768949›Full record

ArticleCNS drugs2020

Psychostimulants/Atomoxetine and Serious Cardiovascular Events in Children with ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Richard Houghton, Frank de Vries, Georg Loss

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in CNS drugs, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 13% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Upregulated inwardly rectifying KJournal of biomedical research · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
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  12. Current Pharmacological Treatments for ADHD.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2022
    Review
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  14. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Richard HoughtonPersonalized Health Care Data Science, Real World Data, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse. 124, 4070, Basel, Switzerland. richard.houghton@roche.com.
Frank de VriesDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy and Toxicology, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Georg LossPersonalized Health Care Data Science, Real World Data, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse. 124, 4070, Basel, Switzerland.
Roche (Switzerland) · CHMaastricht University · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPsychostimulants and atomoxetine have been shown to increase blood pressure, heart rate, and QT interval in children and adolescents; however, based on current literature, it is unclear if these "attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications" are also associated with serious cardiovascular (SCV) events. We addressed this question in commonly exposed groups of children and adolescents with either ADHD or autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

methodsUsing commercial (years 2000-2016) and Medicaid (years 2012-2016) administrative claims data from the United States (US), we conducted two case-control studies, nested within respective cohorts of ADHD and ASD children aged 3-18 years. We defined cases by a composite outcome of stroke, myocardial infarction, or serious cardiac arrhythmia. For each case, we matched ten controls on age, sex, and insurance type. We conducted conditional logistic regression models to test associations between SCV outcomes and a primary exposure definition of current ADHD medication use. Additionally, we controlled for resource use, cardiovascular and psychiatric comorbidities, and use of medications in a variety of sensitivity analyses.

resultsWe identified 2,240,774 children for the ADHD cohort and 326,221 children for the ASD cohort. For ADHD, 33.9% of cases (63 of 186) versus 32.2% of controls (598 of 1860) were exposed, which yielded an odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.08 (0.78-1.49). For ASD, 12.5% of cases (6 of 48) versus 22.1% of controls (106 of 480) were exposed [OR 0.49 (0.20-1.20)]. Covariate-adjusted results and results for individual outcomes and other exposure definitions were consistent with no increased risk of SCV events.

conclusionUsing large US claims data, we found no evidence of increased SCV risk in children and adolescents with ADHD or ASD exposed to ADHD medications.

Indexed as

AdolescentAtomoxetine HydrochlorideAttention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityAutism Spectrum DisorderCardiovascular DiseasesCardiovascular SystemCase-Control StudiesCentral Nervous System StimulantsChildChild, PreschoolComorbidityFemaleHumansLogistic ModelsMaleRetrospective StudiesAtomoxetine HydrochlorideCentral Nervous System Stimulants

Identifiers

PMID31768949
PMCPMC6982643
OpenAlexW2990423808

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.