ArticleBiological psychiatry2020
Medication for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Risk for Suicide Attempts.
Article in Biological psychiatry, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 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
31 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder/hyperkinetic disorder of pediatric and adult populations in clinical settings: a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Challenges in amphetamine medication availability for individuals with ADHD: a narrative review of the current state of evidence.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Treatment patterns and comparative clinical outcomes of ADHD medications in adolescents and young adults with comorbid major depressive disorder.Journal of affective disorders · 2026Article
- ADHD medication use and risk of self-harm: a multinational self-controlled case series study.BMJ mental health · 2026Article
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and premature mortality: A narrative review of the literature.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Review
- Suicide attempt risk among patients receiving methylphenidate: a retrospective cohort study.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Guanfacine as a Treatment Option for Persistent Mental Restlessness and Deliberate Self-harm Thoughts in a Patient with Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Case Report.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Psychiatric safety of methylphenidate in adults with major depressive disorder: a 1-year retrospective cohort study of 6,422 patients.Psychological medicine · 2026Article
- Pharmacotherapies for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Risk of Suicidal Behavior: A Within-Individual Study of Stimulants, Atomoxetine, and Alpha-2 Agonists.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2026Article
- Substance Use in Adolescents with ADHD and Bipolar Spectrum Disorders: The Transdiagnostic Role of Emotional Dysregulation, Impulsivity and Hypersensitivity Traits.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Understanding the emergence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in adolescence from a brain and behavioral developmental perspective.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Children and Young Adults Who Used Medication for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Faced Increased Cardiac Risks.Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2025Article
- Increased use of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder drugs among children and adolescents with suicidal ideation: A real-world registry study in Japan.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2025Article
- ADHD drug treatment and risk of suicidal behaviours, substance misuse, accidental injuries, transport accidents, and criminality: emulation of target trials.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2025Article
- Exploring the potential association between stimulant or atomoxetine use and suicidal or self-injurious behaviors in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: real-world insights from the FAERS database.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Article
- Article
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Suicide: A Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Medications and Work Disability and Mental Health Outcomes.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Stimulant medication and suicide mortality in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.BJPsych open · 2024Article
- Comparative Effectiveness of Pharmacotherapies for the Risk of Attempted or Completed Suicide Among Persons With Borderline Personality Disorder.JAMA network open · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a risk factor for suicidal behavior, but the effect of ADHD medication on suicidal behavior remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the associations between medication treatment for ADHD and risk of suicide attempts.
methodsWe identified a large cohort of patients with ADHD (N = 3,874,728, 47.8% female patients) using data from commercial health care claims from 2005 to 2014 in the United States. We used population-level and within-individual analyses to compare risk of suicide attempts during months when individuals received prescribed stimulant or nonstimulant medication relative to months when they did not receive medication.
resultsIn both population-level and within-individual analyses, ADHD medication was associated with lower odds of suicide attempts (odds ratio [OR], 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.66-0.73; and OR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.57-0.66, respectively). Similar reductions were found in children to middle-aged adults and in clinically relevant subgroups, including patients with ADHD with preexisting depression or substance use disorder. The reduction was mainly seen for stimulant medication (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.66-0.77); nonstimulant medication was not associated with statistically significant changes in risk of suicide attempts (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.74-1.19). Sensitivity analyses assessing the influence of different exposure definitions, different outcome definitions, subsets of the cohort, and different analytic approaches provided comparable results.
conclusionsStimulant medication was associated with a reduced risk of suicide attempts in patients with ADHD, and nonstimulant medication is unlikely to increase the risk of suicide attempts.
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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.