Treatment nonadherence, illicit drug use may be common in ADHD patients

Recent data presented at the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders annual meeting indicated nonadherence to stimulant prescriptions was common among individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

To assess treatment nonadherence, researchers from Ameritox assessed samples from more than 4,000 patients prescribed stimulants for ADHD. They found that the prescribed stimulants were not detected in one out of three patients.

Analysis also indicated an association between nonadherence to prescribed stimulants and increased rates of illicit drug use and nonmedical use of opioids and benzodiazepines.

Of samples in which the prescribed stimulant was not detected, 20% tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), according to a company press release.

Approximately four of 10 samples with undetected prescribed stimulant tested positive for a combination of nonprescribed opioid, nonprescribed benzodiazepine, THC and/or cocaine.

Further, researchers observed high rates of potential nonadherence among all age groups of individuals treated for ADHD with prescription stimulants. Individuals aged older than 60 years had the lowest rates of potential nonadherence, with prescribed stimulants undetected in 24.4% of samples.

Individuals aged 20 to 29 years exhibited the highest rates of potential nonadherence, with prescribed stimulants undetected in more than 40% of samples.

“Even in the best case scenarios the potential for diversion or illicit drug use is alarmingly high,” Tom Smith, MD, chief medical officer at Ameritox, said in the release. “The misuse, abuse and diversion of ADHD medications cannot be casually brushed aside when these results suggest that even when the prescribed ADHD medication is found there is a nearly one in four chance that the sample will also test positive for potentially dangerous substances.”