A Retrospective Study Examining Predictors of Treatment Response in Over 1,300 Children and Adolescents with...

This study aimed to examine the predictors of treatment response in children and adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The study included 1,314 patients with ADHD who came to the child psychiatry department over a 5-year period. The 276 patients whose treatment was changed due to treatment non-response or side effects were included twice for the first and second treatment, so a total of 1,590 patient data were used. Age, sex, initial ADHD severity, ADHD treatment, treatment response, comorbidities, additional treatments, and chronic disease status of the cases were recorded.

One thousand twenty-seven (78.16%) of the patients were male and 287 (21.84%) were female. Using the combination therapy of methylphenidate (MPH) and atomoxetine (ATX) as the reference category, ATX monotherapy showed a significantly lower likelihood of responding to treatment. Moderate and marked disorder severity were associated with higher odds compared with severe disorder. Borderline intellectual functioning (BIF), mild intellectual disability, conduct disorder (CD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and adjustment disorder (AD) showed significantly lower odds. Older age was significantly associated with response to treatment. In the MPH monotherapy and ATX monotherapy groups, compared to moderate disorder, severe disorder was associated with significantly lower odds. BIF, CD, ASD, enuresis, communication disorders, and AD showed significantly lower odds in MPH group, while only ASD had significantly lower odds in ATX group. Higher ATX dosage was significantly associated with treatment response in this group.

Knowing the factors affecting treatment response can be used to predict prognosis.