Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
ArticlesShort-Term Cardiovascular Effects of Methylphenidate and Adderall
Section snippets
Subjects
The patient population consisted of 195 youths aged 4 to 17 years referred by their pediatrician or family physician for diagnosis and/or treatment of ADHD to the Pediatric Assessment and Evaluation Services (PAES). The PAES was based in a large, urban, teaching hospital. Because of the clinical infrastructure of the treatment setting, youths referred to the PAES were enrolled in managed care plans and did not require emergent assessment or treatment. The diagnostic and pharmacological
RESULTS
Of the 137 youths who had complete data for this medication titration program, 82 received MPH and 55 received ADL as part of the pharmacological intervention. The age of the patients ranged from 4 to 17 years. These patients had a mean age of 10.5 years. No differences in gender, ethnicity, or ADHD subtype were found between the MPH and ADL group (Table 1). No patients had a history of hypertension, hypotension, or clinically significant cardiovascular disease.
DISCUSSION
This is the first study that has systematically assessed the cardiovascular effects of ADL and one of the largest studies that has specifically considered the cardiovascular effects of psychostimulants in young people. Using the same methods and under similar conditions, both ADL and MPH were found to have clinically insignificant effects on blood pressure and pulse. Regardless of medication type or dosage level, the cardiovascular effects of these psychostimulants seem generally modest at
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This work was supported in part by the Stanley Foundation, by the Schubert Foundation, by NIDA grant R01-DAO7957, and by grants MCJ-390592 and 390715 from the Maternal and Child Health Program (Title V, Social Security Act) Health Resources and Service Administration, Department of Health and Human Services. The authors thank all participating families. Special thanks are extended to Ms. Barbra DePasquale for scheduling patients and Ms. Heather Gilmore for manuscript preparation. Drs. Findling and Manos currently serve as consultants to and have their research funded in part by Shire Richwood Inc.