Psychostimulant medication for ADHD and socioeconomic status in Australia (2003-2022)

The aim of the present study was to undertake a retrospective analysis of national data on psychostimulant prescription for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder for youths aged 5 to 17 years in Australia for the period 2003 to 2022.

An area-based national data set (including number of individuals and total dispensing) was used to analyse: (1) total prescription patterns over the period; (2) geographical variation in prescription by state/territory; and (3) socioeconomic variation of prescriptions by postcode.

Four major findings were observed over the period: (1) prescriptions per thousand rose sixfold; (2) variance of standardised prescription levels by state and territory are narrowing around the national average; (3) standardised prescription levels vary by socioeconomics of postcode but variance is narrowing around the national average; and (4) the highest socioeconomic decile has lifted from the lowest standardised prescription ratio to the highest between census years 2006 to 2021.

Standardised prescription levels in Australia are narrowing around the national average. Findings for both individual prescriptions and total dispensing are similar, providing little evidence for large quantum of drug use. Youth from lower socioeconomic regions are slightly more likely to be prescribed medication. Youth from the highest socioeconomic decile are now much more likely to be prescribed medication. The was an increase in prescription levels across the first 2 years of COVID-19. The drivers behind these changes are worthy of further research.