[How to treat ADHD/DAMP? Is there a conclusive answer? A critical survey of the MTA trial?]

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common psychiatric disorder occurring in approximately 3-6% of the population. The high prevalence of the disease and the fact that it has an onset early in life emphasise the importance of adequate treatment. This article focuses on the largest long-term treatment study of ADHD, the Multimodal Treatment study of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA), taking into consideration especially the limitations of the design and their impact on the outcome of the study. Primary among these is the fact that outcome was measured 4-6 months after the most intensive phase of behavioural treatment but while medication was still active. This may have had an impact on the study results, especially since the MTA study did not indicate a significant difference between combined and strictly pharmacological treatment.