The study’s authors say that despite federal efforts to make healthcare more accessible online, the mental health impact of the pandemic may have exacerbated ADHD symptoms. . Access to prescription stimulants may have increased.
“The combination of increased latent need and reduced barriers to access to prescription stimulants may have led more adults with ADHD symptoms to seek diagnosis and treatment,” the authors wrote. I’m here. While it may have benefited people with such symptoms, “it could have resulted in inadequate ADHD assessments and the potential for inadequate stimulant prescriptions,” they added.
The findings highlight the need to develop clinical guidelines for treating adults with ADHD, calling their lack a “public health concern.”
A surge in prescriptions for Adderall, a stimulant drug approved to treat ADHD and heavily regulated due to its potential for abuse, is contributing to a shortage of the drug. prescription data Telehealth is playing a role in the surge, with virtual visits accounting for nearly 40% of stimulant prescriptions last year, up from less than 2% before the pandemic, reports The Washington Post. .
Before the pandemic, federal regulations required patients to meet face-to-face with a healthcare provider to be prescribed stimulant drugs regulated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.Temporary after a federal public health emergency is declared Waiver Enabling doctors to prescribe stimulants and other DEA-controlled substances via telemedicine. This has spawned an industry that offers virtual treatment prescribing a range of drugs, from benzodiazepines to ketamine, that were previously only available face-to-face.
When the state of emergency expires on May 11, the DEA will suggest a rule This will restore the requirement for face-to-face review of stimulant prescriptions, among other controlled substances. This has sparked backlash from patients and medical professionals who say it will once again limit access to the life-changing drug.
A CDC study found that prescription stimulants were most common among children and young adults, but the sharpest increase in recent years has been among adults. In the two groups of women aged 15 to 44 and those aged 50 to 54, in 2020 to 2021, the percentage of women who received one or more prescriptions for stimulants increased from 14.3% to 19.2%. rose between %.
The pattern is similar for men aged 25 to 44 and men aged 50 to 54, with an 11.1% to 14.7% increase in men receiving at least one prescription in 2021. The proportion of men under age 19 who were prescribed stimulants decreased during the year.
CDC statistician Melissa Danielson, lead author of the study, said of adult stimulant use, “We’ve never seen an increase of this magnitude before.” In addition to the impact of the pandemic and telemedicine, “the increased awareness of her ADHD as an adult has led many people with symptoms to seek medical attention,” she said.
ADHD, a neurodevelopmental disorder believed to affect 6 million children in the United States, is associated with inattention and impulsivity, but with long-term effects that may be underestimated in adults. increasingly recognized as a state of affairs.
A CDC study analyzed claims for people enrolled in employer-sponsored plans aged 5 to 64. Among other limitations, the data did not include out-of-pocket people’s care and did not reflect whether prescriptions resulted from telemedicine encounters.
