ADHD Drug Treatment Linked to Reduced Rate of Adverse Outcomes

Treatment linked to reduced rates of first occurrence of suicidal behaviors, substance misuse, transport accidents, criminality

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Aug. 14, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drug treatment is associated with reduced rates of adverse outcome events, including suicidality, substance misuse, transport accidents, and criminality, according to a study published online Aug. 13 in The BMJ.

Le Zhang, M.P.H., from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues examined the effects of drug treatment for ADHD on suicidal behaviors, substance misuse, accidental injuries, transport accidents, and criminality in an emulation of target trials involving people aged 6 to 64 years with a new diagnosis of ADHD. First and recurrent events of five outcomes were examined over two years after ADHD diagnosis.

Of 148,581 individuals with ADHD, 56.7 percent started drug treatment for ADHD; methylphenidate was prescribed most commonly at initiation (88.4 percent). The researchers found that drug treatment for ADHD was associated with significantly reduced rates of the first occurrence of suicidal behaviors, substance misuse, transport accidents, and criminality (adjusted incidence rate ratios, 0.83, 0.85, 0.88, and 0.87, respectively), while the reduction in accidental injuries was not statistically significant. Individuals with previous events had more pronounced reduced rates, with incidence rate ratios varying from 0.79 to 0.97 for suicidal behaviors and accidental injuries, respectively. Drug treatment was significantly associated with reduced rates of all five outcomes for recurrent events (0.85, 0.75, 0.96, 0.84, and 0.75 for suicidal behaviors, substance misuse, accidental injuries, transport accidents, and criminality, respectively).

“These results provide evidence on the effects of ADHD drug treatment on important health related and social outcomes that should inform clinical practice and the debate on the drug treatment of ADHD,” the authors write.

Two authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.