ADHD medications associated with heightened CVD risk

The long-term use of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications may increase a person’s risk of significant cardiovascular issues, according to a new analysis published in JAMA Psychiatry.[1]

“The use of ADHD medication has increased greatly in both children and adults during the past decades,” wrote first author Le Zhang, PhD, with the department of medical epidemiology and biostatistics at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, and colleagues. “Although the effectiveness of ADHD medications has been demonstrated in randomized clinical trials and other studies, concerns remain regarding their potential cardiovascular safety.”

Zhang et al. explored data from more than 275,000 patients in Sweden with confirmed ADHD between the ages of 6 and 64 years old. All patients were diagnosed with ADHD or prescribed ADHD medications from 2007 to 2020. The most commonly prescribed ADHD medications were methylphenidate, atomoxetine and lisdexamfetamine.

Overall, the cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence rate was 7.34 cases per 1,000 person-years. After certain exclusions were made, 10,388 CVD patients with a history of taking ADHD medications were compared with 51,672 matched controls without CVD. The median follow-up time was just slightly more than four years for both patients with and without CVD.

The group determined that patients taking ADHD medications for longer periods of time faced a higher risk of CVD than patients who did not take these medications. Over the course of the study, each additional year a patient took ADHD medications appeared to increase their CVD risk by 4%. This was seen in both children and adults, and in both men and women.