NIT – A new report says that children are still the primary users of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications, but adults are now taking more of those drugs than ever before.
The number of adults on ADHD medications has been increasing at a fast pace, up 53.4% vs. 18.9% from 2008 to 2012, according to a report from HealthCare Insights.
The report contains the latest findings from research providing an in-depth analysis of the most current trends in the use of medications to treat ADHD.
Among adults, women far outnumber men in their use of ADHD treatments, the reverse of childhood trends where only half as many girls as boys take ADHD medications. The number of males using ADHD drugs plummets after age 18, while women ages 19 to 25 surpass younger girls’ use of these medications, 4.4% vs. 3.5% respectively in 2012.
A key finding of the research showed that the use of ADHD medications among Americans rose 35.5% from 2008 to 2012, increasing the number of privately insured individuals on these drug therapies to more than 4.8 million in 2012.
Boys ages 12 to 18 are the most prevalent users, with 9.3% of that population on an ADHD drug in 2012, up from 7.9% in 2008.
While the number of girls on ADHD medications is less than half that of boys, women outnumber men in their use of these drug therapies.
Spending on ADHD medication rose 14.2% in 2012, the greatest increase seen among any traditional drug category; it is forecast to grow nearly 25% by 2015.
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