ADHD in the News 2017-05-11

Medication slashes crash risk for drivers with ADHD, study finds

Car accidents occur at dramatically lower rates among medicated ADHD patients in the United States than among those not taking medicine, according to a study of more than 2.3 million people published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry. Previous studies have documented a higher number of car accidents among people with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.



ADHD in the United States Army

A recent peer-reviewed article provides data on estimated prevalence rates of ADHD in the United States Army using the Adult ADHD Symptom Self-Report Scale Screener (ASRS-S)1. The ASRS-S was administered to over 21,000 active duty soldiers as part of the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STAARS). The larger STAARS assessment battery included experiential and psychological measures and included the 6-item ASRS-S...The sample was predominantly male and under the age of 30 years-old. The results indicated that 7.6% of the servicemembers screened positive for ADHD using the composite score and 9.0% screened positive using the item-response score.



Behind the label: ADHD over 30 years

Although childhood hyperactivity and inattention have been described in medical literature since as early as the 18th century, it was not until 1987 that the term “Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” appeared in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders...Jennifer Kaminski, PhD, with CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, told Infectious Diseases in Children that ADHD has gained medical credibility in the last 3 decades, partly as a result of neuroimaging studies that provide visible evidence of the ways ADHD affects the brain.



Psychiatric Disorders in Children Linked to Celiac Disease

Children with celiac disease are at a 1.4-fold increased risk for psychiatric disorders, according to a new Swedish study. Agnieszka Butwicka, MD, PhD, of... Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, and colleagues assessed the risk of childhood psychiatric disorders (any psychiatric disorder; psychotic, mood, anxiety, and eating disorders; psychoactive substance misuse; behavioral disorder; ADHD; ASD; and intellectual disability) in 10,903 children age 18 and younger and 12,710 of their siblings.



The Shoddy Science Behind Fidget Spinners

The alleged mental benefits of the toys have helped fuel their sales, but even a cursory look at the nonexistent science--and the history--of the spinners makes it clear that these claims are specious at best...experts say that playing with a fidget spinner, which does not require much physical activity, might not garner the same results as actual fidgeting.



Why It’s Risky for College Kids to Take ADHD Meds to Help Them Study

Many college students are taking stimulant medications designed to help manage attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms – focus in particular – not because they actually have ADHD, but because these meds are a perceived bonus for the busy student hoping to ace tests and breeze through study sessions...According to Marcia Lee Taylor, president and CEO of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, such endorsement is an unfortunate sign of the times. “It’s symptomatic of a larger problem in society in which teens and young adults haven’t learned how to cope effectively,” she says, adding that rather than thinking, “What can I take to handle stress?” young adults should instead ask themselves, “What can I do to manage my stress in a healthy way?”