Observational studyEuropean journal of clinical pharmacology2021
The 10-year trend in drug prescriptions for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Germany.
Observational study in European journal of clinical pharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed.
- Trends and Gender Disparities in Medical Narcotics Utilization in South Korea: A Nationwide Population-Based Study, 2019-2023.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2026Article
- Prescribing trends and spontaneous reporting patterns of adverse drug reactions of ADHD medications in children and adolescents in germany: A retrospective analysis (2013-2022).European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Article
- The exponential increase in the number of prescriptions for ADHD medication between 2012 and 2022 in Poland in patients aged 5-59 years: a pharmacoepidemiological study.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- ADHD prescribing: national findings of children and adolescents attending mental health services in Ireland.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2026Article
- Patterns of prescription stimulant initiation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based time-series analysis.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2026Article
- Trends in use of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder medications among children and adults in five European countries, 2010 to 2023: a population-based observational study.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2026Article
- Spatial inequalities and contextual correlates of methylphenidate dispensing in Jiangsu Province, China.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Trends in Medication Use Among Young Adults and the Covid-19 Pandemic Effect.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2025Article
- [Pharmacological management of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) by generalists and specialists in Germany: a secondary data analysis].Fortschritte der Neurologie-Psychiatrie · 2025Article
- Socioeconomic status and prescribing of ADHD medications: a study of ICB-level data in England.BMJ mental health · 2025Observational
- Drug detection in oral fluid and urine after single therapeutic doses of dexamphetamine, lisdexamphetamine, and methylphenidate in healthy volunteers.Journal of analytical toxicology · 2025Article
- Self-rated costs and benefits of conventional and alternative adult ADHD treatments.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Nationwide trends in the use of ADHD medications in the period 2006-2022: a study from the Norwegian prescription database.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Switch to Lisdexamfetamine in the Treatment of Attention-Deficit Disorder at a Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic for School-Aged Children: A Danish Cohort Study.Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology · 2024Observational
- Exploring the impact of stimulant medications on weight in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Trends in use of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medication among children and adolescents in Scandinavia in 2010-2020.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2023Article
- Impact of mental disorders during education on work participation: a register-based longitudinal study on young adults with 10 years follow-up.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 2023Article
- ADHD Follow-Up in Adulthood among Subjects Treated for the Disorder in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service from 1995 to 2015.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Observational
- The effect of methylphenidate and mixed amphetamine salts on cognitive reflection: a field study.Psychopharmacology · 2022Article
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Abstract
purposeThe aim of this study was to analyse whether the global trend in drug prescriptions for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), as observed during the last years and often criticized as medicalization, have remained stable or shifted.
methodsThis observational study was based on a secondary analysis of data from a large German database including patients with an ADHD diagnosis between 2008 and 2018. Prescription data comprised all important ADHD drugs.
resultsA total of 620 practices delivered data from a total of 77,504 patients (31% of them females) with a diagnosis of AHDH. Nearly 38% (29,396/77,504) of all patients received, at least, one prescription for an ADHS medicine between 2008 and 2018. The number of patients receiving a drug steadily increased annually until 2012 and then slowly fell, but unevenly distributed across the age groups. While the number of younger patients ( ≤ 16 years) receiving a prescription fell by 24% and the defined daily doses (DDDs) remained stable, the number of patients between 17 and 24 years receiving a prescription increased by 113% and the DDDs by 150%. Respectively, the number of older adults (≥ 25 years) with a prescription increased by 355% and the DDDs by 515%. Nearly one-third of older adults received an ADHD medicine only once.
conclusionThe ever-increasing prescription of ADHD medicines stopped some years ago for children. ADHS and its pharmacological management are increasingly observed among older adolescents and adults, with a different pattern of drug persistence compared with children.
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