The higher-than-average risk for premature death seen in children and adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be lowered by taking medications for the condition, new findings suggest.
Researchers in Sweden tracked 148,578 children and adults with ADHD. Within three months of being diagnosed, about 57% had started on medications.
Within two years, 632 patients had died, the researchers reported. Overall, among every 10,000 individuals, mortality rates were 39.1 in the medication group compared with 48.1 in those not receiving treatment, they reported on Tuesday in JAMA.
More than half of the deaths were due to unnatural causes, such as accidental injuries, accidental poisoning, and suicide.
After accounting for other risk factors, use of medication was associated with 21% lower odds of death from any cause, and 25% lower odds of death from unnatural causes, for males in particular, the researchers found.
The short-term study was not a randomized trial, so it is not clear whether medication itself explains the results and, if so, whether the effect persists over time.
Also unclear, according to an editorial published with the study, is whether ADHD treatment reduces the risk of premature death directly by reducing impulsive behaviors or indirectly by alleviating core symptoms of the disease.
ADHD affects 5.9% of youths and 2.5% of adults worldwide, according to the 2021 World Federation of ADHD International Consensus Statement. In the U.S., rates are estimated at 9.8% among children and adolescents and 4.4% among adults, according to two studies.
“Future research should investigate the potential relationship between ADHD symptom severity and mortality outcomes for those receiving medication treatment,” the editorial said.
