Dec. 18, 2024 – Do the same treatments that help children focus and manage hyperactivity and attention problems also work for adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?
It’s an important question. Although ADHD is widely viewed as a childhood disorder, it’s becoming more common among adults.
A large new study suggests certain medications are the most effective in the short term, and more data is needed about nondrug ways to treat adult ADHD. Once thought to affect just 2% or 3% of adults, a recent CDC analysis shows that rate has risen to 6%, or more than 1 in 20 adults.
Now, an international team of researchers has concluded that, for at least the first 12 weeks of treatment, stimulant medications and the drug atomoxetine are the only treatments effective at reducing core ADHD symptoms. Common versions of stimulants used for ADHD include the well-known brands of Adderall and Vyvanse. Atomoxetine is marketed under the brand name Strattera.
For the study, newly published in The Lancet Psychiatry, data from about 15,000 people spanning more than 100 studies were combined to analyze the effects of a variety of ADHD treatments for adults, including medications, psychological therapy, neurostimulatory therapy, and neurofeedback. The researchers focused on core symptoms, such as difficulty concentrating, excessive talking, restlessness, difficulty waiting, and difficulty finishing tasks.
Interestingly, effectiveness results were conflicting for the nondrug treatments of cognitive behavioral therapy, cognitive remediation, mindfulness, psychoeducation, and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Patients didn’t report significant improvement compared to taking a placebo after undergoing these treatments, but their doctors did report symptom improvements.
The researchers said that there wasn’t enough data to fully evaluate the effectiveness of treatments beyond 12 weeks. “However, ADHD medications had no significant effects on broader outcomes, such as quality of life,” they wrote in their report.
Also, several of the study authors declared that they had received payments in the past from pharmaceutical companies for activities like research or consulting.
