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ADHD Overdiagnoses Fueled by Pharma Ads

MeSci

ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
Messages
8,231
Location
Cornwall, UK
Another one from Physician's First Watch (yesterday):

ADHD Overdiagnoses Fueled by Pharma Ads
By Amy Orciari Herman

The rising rates of ADHD diagnoses are "a national disaster" fueled largely by drug-company ads that target clinicians and parents alike, according to a front-page story in Sunday's New York Times.

"The zeal to find and treat every ADHD child has led to too many people with scant symptoms receiving the diagnosis and medication," reports the Times. The paper's analysis of CDC data found that ADHD trails only asthma as the most common long-term diagnosis in children.

And drug makers are even targeting the young: Adderall's manufacturer subsidized 50,000 copies of a comic book that features superheroes saying, "Medicines may make it easier to pay attention and control your behavior!" (If you ever wondered where the name Adderall came from, the pharma executive who introduced the drug in 1996 told the Times it's meant to convey "ADD [attention deficit disorder] for all.")

The Times story also delves into the debate around the dangers of stimulants, as well as the "new frontier" of ADHD in adults.

Link(s):
New York Times story (Free) http://click.jwatch.org/cts/click?q=227;67932705;43C1YPgH0Q9T8iFzfSq5s+9gvQt0WTYuT+kwOlSMh98=
Background: Physician's First Watch coverage of BMJ analysis on ADHD overdiagnosis (Free) http://click.jwatch.org/cts/click?q=227;67932705;43C1YPgH0Q9T8iFzfSq5syiOOJ2ofBpPT+kwOlSMh98=