Injury among stimulant-treated youth with ADHD
Steven C Marcus1, George J Wan, Huabin F Zhang
1University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Objective:
To assess risk factors for injury among children and adolescents treated with stimulants for ADHD.
Method:
An analysis was performed of pharmacy and service claims data from 2000-2003 California Medicaid (Medi-Cal) focusing on children and adolescents ages 6 to 17 years who initiated stimulant therapy for ADHD. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to examine associations of demographic and clinical characteristics with injury.
Results:
In a Cox proportional hazard model that controlled for background patient characteristics, patients ages 13 to 17 years, male gender, prescription of anxiolytic/hypnotic medications, and diagnosis of a mood disorder were each independently associated with increased risk of injury, whereas African American ancestry and other minority racial/ethnic ancestry were associated with lower risk. Youth with high stimulant medication possession ratios (MPR) had a nonsignificantly lower risk of injury as compared to those with a low stimulant MPR.
Conclusion:
These findings reveal several patient characteristics that may be associated with increased risk of injury among children and adolescents treated for ADHD.
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