[PAA-Discuss] Fwd: The Australian - Kids on ADHD drugs `poor at school'

Sat Feb 20 18:40:02 EST 2010

-----Original Message-----
From: Vince Boehm <vince_19805 at yahoo.com>
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Sent: Sat, Feb 20, 2010 12:07 pm
Subject: The Australian - Kids on ADHD drugs `poor at school'

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An important paper was released by the West Australian Department of 
Health this week.  This is the first long term outcome study on the use 
of stimulant drugs for treatment of ADHD ever done.  The data used is 
for 131 patients who were tracked for twenty years by the Department.

You may access this report here:  
http://www.health.wa.gov.au/publications/documents/MICADHD_Raine_ADHD_Study_report_022010.pdf

The outcomes are not pretty.

Co-author Professor Lou Landau on an ADHD study which found stimulant 
medication increased blood pressure, had nil results on academic 
performance, and didn't improve behaviour.  For those on medication it 
is 10 times as likely that classroom performance will be below 
average.  The physical effects of the medication follow the child into 
adulthood.

In an interview on Australian radio, Landau expresses dismay about 
these outcomes because these contradict many published 
industry-sponsored short term studies. 

You can listen to this broadcast at this link 
http://www.abc.net.au/news/audio/2010/02/17/2822025.htm or read the 
transcript here:   
http://www.abc.net.au/news/audio/2010/02/17/2822025.htm

Vince

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/kids-on-adhd-drugs-poor-at-school/story-e6frg6nf-1225831116701

Kids on ADHD drugs `poor at school'

Stephen Lunn, Social affairs writer
From: The Australian
February 17, 2010 12:00AM

CHILDREN with ADHD who use prescription drugs to manage their condition 
are 10 times more likely to perform poorly at school than ADHD kids who 
avoid medication, a new report reveals.
The report also finds stimulant drugs such as Ritalin and 
dexamphetamine make no significant difference to the level of 
depression, self-perception and social functioning of a 14-year-old 
with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Those consistently using medication had significantly higher blood 
pressure at age 14 than children who had never taken drugs, a 
side-effect that could increase the risk of heart attack and stroke 
even into adulthood.
The report's co-author, Lou Landau, said the world-first study into the 
long-term effects of stimulant medication on children with ADHD, to be 
published today, showed "drugs over the long term don't have an impact 
on improving performance".

Related Coverage

Review of 'tainted' ADHD guidelines The Australian, 23 Nov 2009
Reader's Comments: ADHD guidelines pulled after drug scandal 
NEWS.com.au,
School student hands out Ritalin Daily Telegraph, 13 Oct 2009
We're turning our kids psychotic Courier Mail, 13 Oct 2009
Readers' Comments: ADHD study to probe genetic link - Herald Sun Herald 
Sun,

"They don't improve outcomes for those with ADHD, they make no 
difference to levels of depression, social functioning and 
self-perception, and for those on medication it is 10 times as likely 
that classroom performance will be below average," he said.
Professor Landau, principal medical adviser to the West Australian 
Department of Health, which funded the research, said that was not to 
say drugs should never be used to treat ADHD. "There may be some 
children for whom the need to manage the condition in the short term 
will outweigh the long-term effects."
The report is groundbreaking because it uses data from the Raine Study, 
which has been tracking the progress of more than 2800 families for two 
decades. Parents of the 131 children diagnosed with ADHD under the 
study have been providing information since the children were born. The 
outcomes were measured when the children were 14 years old.
West Australian Mental Health Minister Graham Jacobs said he was 
cautious about the study because of its relatively small sample size, 
but it "did call into question the anecdotal evidence from when I was a 
country GP that medication improved a child's concentration so they 
learned better".
"I think parents are starting to look at the issue more closely," he 
said. "In WA, we were one of the higher ADHD medication prescribers, 
but it started to change in the last 12 to 18 months."
West Australian Labor MP Martin Whitely, a longtime campaigner against 
ADHD medication, welcomed the report. "The ADHD industry's claim that 
without medication ADHD children risk academic failure has been shown 
to be complete bull," he said. "It's not just that ADHD drugs don't 
improve long-term school performance, they drag kids down. Parents will 
be furious they've been conned into giving their children 
taxpayer-subsidised amphetamines. No responsible parent would knowingly 
increase their child's chances of academic failure."

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