Are stimulants overprescribed? Treatment of ADHD in four U.S. communities Export

@article{jensen_are_1999, abstract = {OBJECTIVE: To address rising concerns about the possible overdiagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and overtreatment with stimulants. To date, almost no studies have examined ADHD in unbiased community-based studies, ascertaining both the prevalence of the diagnosis within nonreferred populations and the extent to which various treatments (i.e., stimulant medication, mental health treatments, and educational interventions) are used. METHOD: As a part of the Methods for the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders (MECA) Study, the authors examined epidemiological survey data obtained from 1,285 children and their parents across 4 U.S. communities. Analyses examined the frequency of children's ADHD diagnosis, the extent to which medications were prescribed, as well as the provision of other services (e.g., psychosocial treatments, school-based educational interventions). RESULTS: Findings indicated that 5.1\% of children met full DSM-III-RADHD criteria across the pooled sample. Only 12.5\% of children meeting ADHD criteria had been treated with stimulants during the previous 12 months. Some children who had been prescribed stimulants did not meet full ADHD diagnostic criteria, but these children manifested high levels of ADHD symptoms, suggesting that the medication had been appropriately prescribed. Children with ADHD were generally more likely to receive mental health counseling and/or school-based interventions than medication. CONCLUSIONS: Medication treatments are often not used in treating ADHD children identified in the community, suggesting the need for better education of parents, physicians, and mental health professionals about the effectiveness of these treatments. On the basis of these data it cannot be concluded that substantial "overtreatment" with stimulants is occurring across communities in general.}, author = {Jensen, P. S. and Kettle, L. and Roper, M. T. and Sloan, M. T. and Dulcan, M. K. and Hoven, C. and Bird, H. R. and Bauermeister, J. J. and Payne, J. D.}, citeulike-article-id = {2631034}, comment = {PMID: 10405496}, journal = {Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry}, keywords = {adhd, adolescentattention, bibtex-import, deficit, disorder, health, hyperactivitycentral, mental, misusehealth, nervous, psychiatry, ricosampling, services, servicesconnecticutdemographydrug, specialfemalegeorgiahealth, states, stimulantschildcommunity, studiesunited, surveyshumansmalemethylphenidatenew, system, utilizationeducation, with, writing, yorkprevalencepuerto}, month = {July}, pages = {797--804}, posted-at = {2008-04-05 04:02:02}, priority = {2}, title = {Are stimulants overprescribed? Treatment of ADHD in four U.S. communities}, volume = {38}, year = {1999} }

TY - JOUR ID - jensen_are_1999 L3 - citeulike-article-id:2631034 N2 - OBJECTIVE: To address rising concerns about the possible overdiagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and overtreatment with stimulants. To date, almost no studies have examined ADHD in unbiased community-based studies, ascertaining both the prevalence of the diagnosis within nonreferred populations and the extent to which various treatments (i.e., stimulant medication, mental health treatments, and educational interventions) are used. METHOD: As a part of the Methods for the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders (MECA) Study, the authors examined epidemiological survey data obtained from 1,285 children and their parents across 4 U.S. communities. Analyses examined the frequency of children's ADHD diagnosis, the extent to which medications were prescribed, as well as the provision of other services (e.g., psychosocial treatments, school-based educational interventions). RESULTS: Findings indicated that 5.1% of children met full DSM-III-RADHD criteria across the pooled sample. Only 12.5% of children meeting ADHD criteria had been treated with stimulants during the previous 12 months. Some children who had been prescribed stimulants did not meet full ADHD diagnostic criteria, but these children manifested high levels of ADHD symptoms, suggesting that the medication had been appropriately prescribed. Children with ADHD were generally more likely to receive mental health counseling and/or school-based interventions than medication. CONCLUSIONS: Medication treatments are often not used in treating ADHD children identified in the community, suggesting the need for better education of parents, physicians, and mental health professionals about the effectiveness of these treatments. On the basis of these data it cannot be concluded that substantial "overtreatment" with stimulants is occurring across communities in general. JF - Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry EP - 804 TI - Are stimulants overprescribed? Treatment of ADHD in four U.S. communities VL - 38 SP - 797 KW - adhd KW - adolescentattention KW - bibtex-import KW - deficit KW - disorder KW - health KW - hyperactivitycentral KW - mental KW - misusehealth KW - nervous KW - psychiatry KW - ricosampling KW - services KW - servicesconnecticutdemographydrug KW - specialfemalegeorgiahealth KW - states KW - stimulantschildcommunity KW - studiesunited KW - surveyshumansmalemethylphenidatenew KW - system KW - utilizationeducation KW - with KW - writing KW - yorkprevalencepuerto N1 - PMID: 10405496 AU - Jensen, PS AU - Kettle, L AU - Roper, MT AU - Sloan, MT AU - Dulcan, MK AU - Hoven, C AU - Bird, HR AU - Bauermeister, JJ AU - Payne, JD PY - 1999/July// ER -