Friday, October 14, 2005

Are ADHD Drugs Effective & Safe?

A review conducted by the Drug Effectiveness review Project at Oregon State University concluded that there were no good quality studies that examined the long term safety and effectiveness of ADHD medications. An analysis of more than 2200 studies of 16 drugs revealed evidence on the effectiveness to be seriously lacking. This group, set up by 12 US states to provide independent information, analysed data from six pharmaceutical manufacturers. They rejected 2107 of the studies due to unreliability and reviewed the remaining 180 reports. The study found that evidence on the use of drugs to affect outcomes relating to academic performance, consequences of risky behaviors, and social achievements was lacking. They stress the importance in finding out if it truly is ADHD that children suffer from. A child given medicine for ADHD may be inattentive due to eyesight problems or problems at home.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

im 13, and have adhd, i take adderal, what are the risks of taking this medication?