A study has found that long-term use of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication in childhood increases the risk of obesity in adulthood and may result in slightly shorter height. In particular, in South Korea, medications containing these ingredients have been misused as so-called 'study-enhancing drugs' in places like the Gangnam academy district, making it necessary to pay attention to this research result.
According to an analysis by a research team led by Professor Song Ji-hoon of Korea University College of Medicine, children and adolescents prescribed methylphenidate, a representative ADHD medication, had a significantly higher adult body mass index (BMI) compared to groups that did not take the medication or control groups without ADHD. This study was recently published in the 《Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open (JAMA Network Open)》.
The research team utilized data from the National Health Insurance Service to compare and analyze 12,866 children aged 6 to 11 and 21,984 adolescents aged 12 to 19 diagnosed with ADHD between 2008 and 2013 with a control group of similar age, gender, and income level without ADHD.
The analysis revealed that children who had ADHD had an average BMI of 24.3 in adulthood, which was higher than the control group (23.3). In particular, male patients who received methylphenidate treatment had an average BMI that soared to 25.4, and those who took the medication for 1 to 4 years had an average BMI that reached 26, indicating the highest risk of obesity.
Statistically, children who took methylphenidate were 1.6 times more likely to become overweight than those who did not take the medication, and the risk of severe obesity was also confirmed to be 1.88 times higher. The longer the duration of medication treatment, the greater the risk of obesity.
There was also a slight impact on height growth. The group taking methylphenidate had a 1.08 times higher probability of being below 174.4 cm for males and below 161.8 cm for females compared to the general control group.
The research team stated, "Doctors should recognize that the use of ADHD medications can affect the growth of adolescents," and advised, "Instead of discontinuing medication treatment, it is important to regularly monitor weight and height, and to manage lifestyle habits such as ensuring adequate sleep, balanced nutrition intake, and regular physical activity."
This study has limitations in that it could not perfectly control for factors such as parental BMI, genetic factors, and specific lifestyle habits, but the research team explained that it is significant in identifying the long-term effects of ADHD medications based on large-scale Korean data.
