TUESDAY, July 31 (HealthDay News) -- Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appear to have decreased growth rates after starting treatment, and there is no evidence of growth rebound after three years, according to a report in the August issue of Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The difference amounts to 2.0 cm in height and about 2.0 kg in weight.
James Swanson, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of California, Irvine, compared subgroups of children enrolled in the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With ADHD, including 88 newly medicated children, 70 consistently medicated, 147 inconsistently medicated and 65 children who were not medicated.
The newly medicated subgroup showed 2.0 cm and 2.7 kg deficits that reached asymptotes at 36 months compared to the unmedicated group. The findings did not support the hypothesis of delayed maturation in ADHD or that growth rebound occurs with continued treatment.
The findings agree with some chart review studies but not others. Although the research is inconsistent, there may be "enough evidence to consider revision of clinical practice parameters to acknowledge the possibility of stimulant-related slowing in the usual developmental gains in height as well as weight during the course of treatment of
prepubertal children with ADHD," the authors concluded.
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
