SynthesisEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry2023
A meta-analytic review of the impact of ADHD medications on anxiety and depression in children and adolescents.
Synthesis in European child & adolescent psychiatry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exercise intervention and improvement of negative emotions in children: a meta-analysis.BMC pediatrics · 2023Pooled it
- Emotional Profiles in Adolescents With ADHD: A Person-Centered Analysis of Emotion Regulation, Resilience, and Internalizing Symptoms.Alpha psychiatry · 2026Article
- Mindfulness Training in Youth With ADHD + Comorbid Learning Disability Maintains Medial Frontal Cortex Function During Response Inhibition.Clinical EEG and neuroscience · 2026Article
- Methylphenidate or Family Mindfulness? Effects on Internalizing, Externalizing and Social Problems in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Bioethical evaluation of methylphenidate and atomoxetine for pediatric ADHD and cognitive enhancement.Philosophy, ethics, and humanities in medicine : PEHM · 2025Article
- Clinical symptoms and functional impairment in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) co-morbid tic disorder (TD) patients: a cluster-based investigation.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Anxiety and depression are listed as common side effects for medications licensed for treating ADHD in children and adolescents. This meta-analytic review of randomised controlled trials aimed to explore the effect of medications on symptoms of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents with ADHD. A meta-analytic review of ADHD drug trials in children and adolescents was conducted. Random effects meta-analyses were conducted on anxiety and depression outcomes measured by validated psychological scales or side effect rating scales. Only 11% of eligible trials in this review reported anxiety and/or depression as an outcome or side effect, limiting the conclusions of the meta-analyses. Relative to placebo control, no significant effect of medication was found for symptoms of anxiety or depression in randomised controlled trials of ADHD medication in children and adolescents. This review highlights the systemic lack of mental health outcome reporting in child and adolescent ADHD drug trials. The importance of widespread implementation of standardised measurement of mental health outcomes in future trials is discussed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.