ADHD Drug Reduces Smoking Risk In Girls
U.S. researchers said on Monday that girls who take stimulants to combat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are not as likely to start smoking or to abuse alcohol or drugs as others with the condition.
They stated that girls with ADHD who ingest stimulant drugs have half the risk of substance abuse and practically less than half the risk of smoking cigarettes as those who were not prescribed drugs.
"It shows a greater than 50 percent reduction for developing a substance use," said Dr. Timothy Wilens, director of the pediatric substance abuse program at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Many other studies have established that people diagnosed with ADHD are more at risk to smoke and abuse drugs. Treatment with stimulants like Ritalin, identified more commonly as methylphenidate, can lower the risk of abuse in boys.
Numerous children with ADHD are given drugs such as Novartis AG’s Ritalin and Shire Plc’s Adderall.
Wilens and other researchers observed 140 girls with ADHD between the ages of 6 to 18. 94 percent of the girls were taking stimulant medication. The girls regularly had psychiatric assessments over a period of five years.
The researchers were looking to see if treating girls with ADHD could increase the risk of smoking and substance abuse, but instead, the risk was lowered.
Since the average age of the girls studied was 16, it is not yet apparent whether this decreased risk will persist through adulthood, when people possess a much higher chance of smoking and having a substance abuse problem.
Wilens said any discovery that a medication decreases the probability of smoking is valuable.
"If you smoke and have ADHD, over half of those kids ultimately go on to have a substance abuse problem," he said.
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and by the Lilly Foundation. The report in its entirety is published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
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