Hyperactivity drugs in clear over addiction

Psychologists in the United States analysed 15 long-term studies following more than 2,500 children with ADHD from childhood into adolescence and young adulthood.

They said they know that children with ADHD are far more likely than other youngsters to develop serious substance abuse problems as adolescents and adults, but wanted to know whether stimulant medications used to treat the condition contributed to the risk.

Writing in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, Kathryn Humphreys, a doctoral candidate in UCLA’s department of psychology and lead author of the study, said: “We found the children were neither more likely nor less likely to develop alcohol and substance-use disorders as a result of being treated with stimulant medication.

“We found no association between the use of medication such as Ritalin and future abuse of alcohol, nicotine, marijuana and cocaine.”