March 31, 2023 – The variety of prescriptions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medications has increased throughout the pandemic, with the rise significantly amongst young adults, a CDC study shows shows.
“The current study provides further evidence that the increasing trend in the percentage of adults receiving prescriptions for stimulants has continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a significant increase in 2020-2021,” the authors wrote. “The pandemic has had negative effects on mental health, which may have led to or worsened ADHD symptoms.”
Access to telemedicine could have contributed to this increase, the authors said.
The researchers checked out insurance claims for stimulant prescriptions written between 2016 and 2021 for people ages 5 to 64 and determined what percentage of individuals in numerous age groups filled those prescriptions. Prescriptions had been rising slowly for many age groups since 2016, but began rising more quickly after the pandemic began.
4.1% of those surveyed received a prescription for ADHD medication in 2020, in comparison with 3.8% in 2020 and three.6% in 2016. The increases were most pronounced in certain age groups.
From 2020 to 2021, prescriptions increased by greater than 10% amongst women ages 15 to 44 and men ages 25 to 44, the study found. The largest increase in all the study was 19.2% amongst women ages 20 to 24.
ADHD is a brain disorder that affects your attention, ability to sit down still, and control your behavior. It is mostly diagnosed in childhood, but can proceed into maturity. Boys ages 5 to 19 continued to have the very best percentage of prescriptions filled, although percentages actually declined throughout the pandemic.
It is estimated that greater than 8 million adults, or as much as 5% of Americans, suffer from ADHD.