ArticleExploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy2025
Longitudinal study on the seasonal variation in methylphenidate consumption in the South African private healthcare sector.
Article in Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: A steady growth in the consumption of medicine for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been evident over the past two decades. The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is reported to have had an effect on stimulant consumption. Methylphenidate is the main active ingredient used in the treatment of ADHD, both in children and adults. Objective: The primary aim was to analyze the consumption patterns of methylphenidate in the private healthcare sector in South Africa by means of a drug utilization study using the Defined Daily Dose (DDD) methodology to establish trends, detect seasonal variations and to compare the results with international studies. Methods: A retrospective descriptive drug utilization study was conducted. IQVIA sales data from the South African private healthcare sector from 2013 to 2023 were analyzed. Consumption patterns were expressed as the number of Defined Daily Doses (DDDs)/1000 inhabitants/day and DDDs/1000 inhabitants/month. Ethical approval for the study was granted. Results: Methylphenidate consumption showed a steady increase in the years around the pandemic period, from 9.07 (in 2018) to 9.88 DDDs/1000 inhabitants/day (in 2023), with a notable lower consumption in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic started. Consumption in 2013 was only 6.01 DDD/1000 inhabitants/day, which indicates an increase of 64.39 % over the 11-year period. Seasonal peaks in consumption were observed in February, May, August and November, coinciding with times before assessment periods in schools and universities. Conclusions: There was a clear visible upward trend in the consumption of methylphenidate, with a decrease during 2020, as was also observed in other countries. Similar studies are recommended for other central nervous system drug classes.
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.