Tag: ADHD

The most comprehensive review to date of ADHD treatments has found that medication for children and adults, and cognitive behavioural therapy for adults, remain the most effective approaches, backed by the strongest short-term trial evidence.

Researchers led by the Université Paris Nanterre (France), Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant (France), and the University of Southampton (UK) analysed over 200 meta-analyses covering different treatment types, participant groups, and clinical outcomes in a study published 27 November 2025 in The BMJ.

The research was funded by public and peer-reviewed research grants from Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France), France 2030 program (France), and National Institute for Health and Care Research (UK).

To help people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and their clinicians make more informed, shared decisions, the team has created an interactive website that clearly presents the findings and the evidence behind each treatment based on the review (ebiadhd-database.org).

“We know that people with ADHD and their families are often overwhelmed by conflicting messages about which treatments work,” says Professor Samuele Cortese , an NIHR Research Professor at the University of Southampton and senior lead author on the paper.

“We believe this study and the accompanying website provide the most authoritative, evidence-based, and accessible guidance currently available.

“The Evidence-Based Interventions for ADHD website provides freely available, evidence-based, and continuously updated information in an easy-to-understand way. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first platform in the world to do so based on such a rigorous synthesis of the available evidence.”

Overall, five medications in children and adolescents, and two medications and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in adults were shown to be effective while supported by a relatively robust evidence base. Critically, all this evidence was limited to the short-term, despite long-term treatment being common in clinical practice.

Treatments like acupuncture, mindfulness and exercise showed promise, but the evidence supporting their use was of a low quality due to small numbers of participants and risk of bias. The limitations applied to studies evaluating cognitive behavioural therapy in children and adolescents, as well as research on the long-term effects of mindfulness in adults, although mindfulness was the only intervention to demonstrate large beneficial effects at extended follow-up.

Dr Corentin Gosling, Associate Professor at the Paris Nanterre University and first lead author of the study, says: “Long waiting lists for mental health services are a major issue. Having incorrect information about treatments can make people’s journeys even more difficult, by wasting time and money on non-evidence-based approaches, for example.

“By contrast, taking the time to review all treatment options within a shared decision-making process using the web app we developed can empower people with ADHD, leading to better treatment adherence, improved outcomes, and an overall better patient experience.”

The findings generally complement current international clinical guidelines, not only by providing convenient access to current high-quality evidence, but also by covering interventions not usually mentioned in clinical guidelines.

The team hope this new project will achieve a similar impact in influencing clinical guidelines and practice as their previous project (ebiact-database.com), which looked at treatments for autism.

Benefits and harms of ADHD interventions: umbrella review and platform for shared decision making is published in The BMJ and is available online.

Source: University of Southampton

People who have ADHD traits at age 10 are more likely than those without such traits to have physical health problems and to report physical health-related disability at age 46, according to a study led by UCL and University of Liverpool researchers.

The researchers say the findings likely reflect the impact of a wide range of risk factors for poor health that are linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and society’s response to people with ADHD across adulthood.

The new JAMA Network Open paper is one of the largest ever studies, with the most years of follow-up, looking at childhood ADHD traits and later health outcomes.

Senior author Professor Joshua Stott (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences) said: “Here we have added to the concerning evidence base that people with ADHD are more likely to experience worse health than average across their lifespan.

“People with ADHD can thrive with the right support, but this is often lacking, both due to a shortage of tailored support services but also because ADHD remains underdiagnosed, particularly in people in midlife and older, with needs unaddressed.”

People with ADHD experience differences in how they focus their attention and/or increased hyperactivity and impulsivity. They can often have high energy and an ability to focus intensely on what interests them, but they may find it difficult to focus on mundane tasks. This can lead to more impulsiveness, restlessness, and differences in planning and time management, which may make it harder to succeed at school and work, leading to longer-term challenges.

ADHD begins in childhood, and while it is increasingly recognised to persist in adults, it is under-treated in adults in the UK compared to in other high-income countries, and support remains under-resourced.

For the study, supported by the Medical Research Foundation, the researchers analysed data from 10 930 participants of the UCL-led 1970 British Cohort Study, a large longitudinal study of people who have been taking part in research from birth to middle age.

ADHD traits were determined based on child behaviour questionnaires completed by parents and teachers when the study participants were 10 years old, regardless of whether they had ever been diagnosed with ADHD.

The researchers found that people with high scores on the index of ADHD traits at age 10 were more likely to have other health conditions by age 46, with 14% higher odds of reporting two or more physical health problems such as migraine, back problems, cancer, epilepsy or diabetes. Among those with high ADHD traits in childhood, 42% had two or more health problems in midlife, compared to 37% of those without high ADHD traits.

People with high ADHD traits at age 10 were also more likely to experience physical health-related disability (reporting having problems with work or other daily activities as a result of their physical health) at age 46.

Their analysis suggests that the poorer health outcomes were partly explained by increased mental health problems, higher BMI and higher smoking rates among people with ADHD. Other studies have found that people with ADHD are also more likely to experience stressful life events and social exclusion, and are less likely to get timely access to screening and medical care.

The researchers found that the link between childhood ADHD traits and physical health-related disability appeared to be stronger among women than men.

Professor Stott added: “All of these potential explanatory factors align with the fact that ADHD makes impulse control more difficult, the need for instant gratification and reward more intense, and is also associated with worse mental health in part due to the social disadvantage people with ADHD face.”

A study published last year by the same research group also found an apparent reduction in life expectancy for adults with diagnosed ADHD, although this was not part of the current study.*

Lead author Dr Amber John, who began the research at UCL before moving to the University of Liverpool, said: “It’s important to note that people with ADHD are a diverse group, with a range of different strengths and experiences, and most will lead long, healthy lives.

“However, many face significant barriers to timely diagnosis and appropriate support. This is important because providing the right support for and meeting the needs of people with ADHD can help to improve their physical and mental health outcomes.

“Additionally, public health strategies should consider the needs of people with ADHD, such as by making screening programmes and ongoing health monitoring more accessible for people with ADHD.”

Source: University College London

Despite concerns about increased stimulant prescribing, nonmedical use of ADHD drugs among adolescents has declined in the last 20 years, a University of Michigan study shows. While medical use of prescription stimulants for ADHD among adolescents increased slightly between 2005 and 2023, nonmedical use declined more.

“Lifetime medical use was 2% lower in 2005 when compared to nonmedical use, and is now 2% higher,” said study co-author Philip Veliz, U-M research associate professor at the U-M School of Nursing and Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking, and Health.

This reversal is important and “is what all parents want to see,” he said.

Recently, prescription stimulant dispensing has increased in the United States, especially among adults. While nonmedical prescription stimulant use has decreased among teens, no national studies have examined medical and nonmedical use patterns among US adolescents. One concern is that nonmedical use could have increased along with medical use.

To answer that question, Veliz and colleagues analysed data from 2005 to 2023 from 19 cohorts of 8th, 10th and 12th grade students in the Monitoring the Future Study, an annual survey at U-M that tracks student substance use and other related trends.

The current study, supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the US Food and Drug Administration and published in JAMA, found that lifetime use of nonmedical stimulants in 2005 was at 10% and dropped to 6% in 2023. Lifetime medical use was roughly 8% in both 2005 and 2023.

“In other words, while the lifetime prevalence of medical use was relatively stable, with a modest increase in current use, we still saw a decrease in both lifetime and current nonmedical use,” Veliz said. “Accordingly, these fears of an uptick in misusing these prescriptions may be slightly overstated given the current trends shown in this study.”

The decline in nonmedical use of prescription stimulants among adolescents follows similar declines in other types of nonmedical prescription drugs use, such as opioids and benzodiazepines.

“This more than likely is linked to public health messaging, prescribing practices and stimulant shortages as it relates to these types of drugs,” Veliz said.

He said the findings were not surprising given how substance use has been declining among more recent cohorts of adolescents, and that they will help clinicians and policymakers to consider population-level trends in medical and nonmedical use patterns when weighing the risks and benefits of prescription stimulants.

Source: University of Michigan