%0 Journal Article
%T Persistence of pharmacological treatment into adulthood, in UK primary care, for ADHD patients who started treatment in childhood or adolescence
%A Suzanne McCarthy
%A Lynda Wilton
%A Macey L Murray
%A Paul Hodgkins
%A Philip Asherson
%A Ian CK Wong
%J BMC Psychiatry
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-244x-12-219
%X The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database was used to identify patients with ADHD who received their first prescription for methylphenidate/ dexamfetamine/atomoxetine, aged 6¨C17 years. Patients were monitored until their ¡®censored date¡¯ (the earliest of the following dates: date the last prescription coded in the database ended, end of the study period (31st December 2008), date at which they transferred out of their practice, date of death, the last date the practice contributed data to the database). Persistence of treatment into adulthood was estimated using Kaplan Meier analysis.610 patients had follow-up data into adulthood. 213 patients (93.4% male) started treatment between 6¨C12 years; median treatment duration 5.9 years. 131 (61.5%) stopped before 18 years, 82 (38.5%) were still on treatment age ¡Ư18 years. 397 patients (86.4% male) started treatment between 13¨C17 years; median treatment duration was 1.6 years. 227 (57.2%) stopped before 18 years, 170 (42.8%) were still on treatment age ¡Ư18 years. The number of females in both age categories was too small to formally test for differences between genders in persistence of treatment.Persistence of treatment into adulthood is lower (~40%) compared with published rates of persistence of the condition (~65% when symptomatic definition of remission used). Due to the limited number of patients with data past 18 years, it is important that ongoing monitoring of prescribing into later adulthood is undertaken, particularly to observe the effects of recommendations in new guidelines.Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was once perceived as a condition of childhood only; however increasing evidence has highlighted the existence of ADHD in adolescents and adults [1]. There is now consensus amongst experts that ADHD, diagnosed mainly using the broader Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition (DSM-IV) criteria, may currently affect at least 1-2% of adults in the United Kingdom (UK)
%K Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
%K Pharmacological treatment
%K Stimulants
%K Persistence
%K Adulthood
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/12/219