Most children treated in a variety of ways for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) showed sustained improvement after three years in a major
follow-up study funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH)
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Yet increased risk for
behavioral problems, including delinquency and substance use, remained
higher than normal.
The study followed-up children who had
participated in the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA).
Initial
advantages of medication management alone or in combination with
behavioral treatment over purely behavioral or routine community care
waned in the years after 14 months of controlled treatment ended.
However, Peter Jensen, M.D., Columbia University, and colleagues
emphasized that "it would be incorrect to conclude from these results
that treatment makes no difference or is not worth pursuing."
Their report is among four on the outcome of the MTA study published in the August, 2007 Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP).
"We were struck by the remarkable improvement in symptoms and functioning across all treatment groups," explained Jensen.
After
three years, 45-71 percent of the youth in the original treatment
groups were taking medication. However, continuing medication treatment
was no longer associated with better outcomes by the third year.
"Our
results suggest that medication can make a long-term difference for
some children if it's continued with optimal intensity, and not started
or added too late in a child's clinical course," added Jensen.
For the followup study, a multi-site research team evaluated, at ages 10-13, 485 children from the original MTA study,
the first major randomized trial comparing different treatments for
ADHD, published in l999. That study found that intensive medication
management alone or in combination with behavioral therapy produced
better outcomes than just behavioral therapy or usual community care.
Ratings
from families and teachers favored the combination treatment, which
allowed for somewhat lower medication doses. Also, the careful
management of medication by MTA physicians produced better outcomes
than medication provided through usual community care sources.
After the 14 months of assigned treatments ended, families were free to choose from treatments available in their communities.
To
understand why the initial advantage of medication wore off, the
researchers examined medication use patterns that emerged after formal
treatment in the study ended. They found that children who had been
assigned to intensive behavioral treatment were more likely to begin
taking medication, while those who had been taking medication were more
likely to stop. For example, among children originally in the
behavioral treatment group, the incidence of high medication use
increased from 14 to 45 percent.
In a secondary analysis of the data that searched for possible explanations for the findings, in the same issue of the JAACAP,
researchers led by James Swanson, Ph.D., University of California at
Irvine, reported finding substantial individual variability in
responses to medication. They identified three groups of children with
different patterns of response. One group, about a third of the
children, showed a gradual, moderate improvement; a second group, about
half of the children, showed larger initial improvement, which was
sustained through the third year; a third group, about 14 percent of
the children, responded well initially, but then deteriorated as
symptoms returned during the second and third years. Swanson and
colleagues suggested "trial withdrawals" for some children to determine
if they still need to take medications.
Another report by Swanson and colleagues in the same issue of the JAACAP
confirmed an earlier finding from the MTA study that taking medication
slowed growth. A group of 65 children with ADHD who had never taken
medication grew somewhat larger — about three-fourths of an inch and 6
pounds more, on average — than a group of 88 peers who stayed on
medication over the three years. Growth rates normalized for the
children on medication by the third year, but they had not made up for
the earlier slowing in growth.
In a fourth article, Brooke
Molina, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues reported that,
despite treatment, the children with ADHD showed significantly
higher-than-normal rates of delinquency (27.1 percent vs. 7.4 percent)
and substance use (17.4 percent vs. 7.8 percent) after three years.
Earlier evidence of lower substance use rates among children who had
received intensive behavioral therapy had lessened by the third year.
"These findings underscore the point that ADHD treatment for one year
does not prevent serious problems from emerging later," noted Molina.
The follow-up of the MTA sample will continue as the participating children go through adolescence and enter adulthood.
Thirteen Great Books on ADHD
-
Driven To Distraction : Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit
Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood by Edward M. Hallowell and
John J. Ratey (Paperback - Mar 2, 1995)
-
Answers to Distraction by Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey (Paperback - Mar 1, 1996)
-
Odd One Out: The Maverick's Guide to Adult ADD by Jennifer Koretsky (Paperback - Sep 24, 2007)
-
Survival Tips for Women with AD/HD: Beyond Piles, Palms, & Post-its by Terry Matlen (Paperback - Jan 1, 2005)
-
ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life by Judith Kolberg and Kathleen Nadeau (Paperback - Aug 2002)
-
Organizing Solutions for People With Attention Deficit Disorder: Tips
and Tools to Help You Take Charge of Your Life and Get Organized by
Susan C Pinsky (Paperback - Dec 1, 2006)
-
Making ADD Work: On-the-Job Strategies for Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder by Blythe Grossberg (Paperback - Sep 6, 2005)
-
Women with Attention Deficit Disorder: Embrace Your Differences and
Transform Your Life by Sari Solden, Edward T. Hallowell, and John J.
Ratey (Paperback - Nov 29, 2005)
-
Scattered Minds: Hope and Help for Adults with ADHD by Lenard Adler and Mari Florence (Hardcover - May 4, 2006) - Bargain Price
-
10
Simple Solutions to Adult ADD: How to Overcome Chronic Distraction
& Accomplish Your Goals (10 Simple Solutions) by Stephanie Sarkis
(Paperback - Jan 2, 2006)
-
You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!: The Classic Self-Help Book
for Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder by Kate Kelly, Peggy
Ramundo, and Edward M., M.D. Hallowell (Paperback - April 25, 2006)
-
Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults, 4th Edition: A Different Way of Thinking by Lynn Weiss (Paperback - Nov 25, 2005)
-
The
Disorganized Mind: Coaching Your ADHD Brain to Take Control of Your
Time, Tasks, and Talents by Nancy A. Ratey (Hardcover - April 1, 2008)
Resource and Support Groups for ADHD
- Attention Deficit Disorder Association
- The Center
- Adders.org
- Daily Strength
- ADHD news.com
- Additude
- About.com ADD ADHD
- WebMD
- The Real Beauty of ADHD Support Groups
- Wegohealth
Additional Resources:
- For related articles on ADHD
and adults on the Web, click on: “Sphere: Related Content” located at the
bottom of this blog post.
- For related books or blog
posts with related content in Dr. Jeff’s and Dr. Tanya’s Blog, go to
“Psychiatric Disorders: ADHD: General” or type in the keyword “ADHD and
Adults” into “Google Search” located in the sidebar.
- For more books with related
content, click any hyperlinked keyword in the blog or type in the keyword,
“ADHD and Adults” into “Amazon Search” on the Amazon banner located in the
side bar.
Sources: National Institute of Mental Health, See also blogposts in: Psychiatric Disorders: ADHD: General
Dr. Jeffrey Speller
Dr. Tanya Korkosz
Psychopharmacology Associates of New England
www.psychopharmassociates.com
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