FDA Links ADHD Stimulants To Sudden Death In Healthy Children
News is just out that the FDA’s ongoing review of the safety of stimulants (Adderall, etc.) used to treat ADHD in children has found an “association” between the meds and sudden death in otherwise healthy children. The FDA specifically noted:
“FDA notified healthcare professionals that it is providing its perspective on study data published in the American Journal of Psychiatry on the potential risks of stimulant medications used to treat Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children. This study, funded by the FDA and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), compared the use of stimulant medications in 564 healthy children from across the United States who died suddenly to the use of stimulant medications in 564 children who died as passengers in a motor vehicle accident.The study authors concluded that there may be an association between the use of stimulant medications and sudden death in healthy children. Given the limitations of this study’s methodology, the FDA is unable to conclude that these data affect the overall risk and benefit profile of stimulant medications used to treat ADHD in children. FDA believes that this study should not serve as a basis for parents to stop a child’s stimulant medication.”
I’m not sure why the study wouldn’t prompt such action or at least a deep reexamination of stimulants a child may be taking.
Any study like this does have limitations and the data for the FDA’s study go back into the 1980s, but this new finding should give parents and doctors much pause.
You can read the full study here and an accompanying editorial in the American Journal of Psychiatry wherein researchers hail the power of stimulants and call the sudden death risk “very small.”
Not if it’s your kid.
Related posts:
Posted in Furious Seasons