Matthew C Lambert1, Robert Reid1, Brenton Prosser2, Regina Bussing3. 1. 1 Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders, University of Nebraska , Lincoln, Nebraska. 2. 2 Faculty of Health, University of Canberra , Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia . 3. 3 Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida , Gainesville, Florida.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Psychostimulant medication is considered a mainstay in the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); however, research suggests that the typical duration of medication treatment for children and youth may be <3 years. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychostimulant treatment persistence for children and adolescents in New South Wales, Australia. METHODS: This study used survival analysis to assess duration of medication treatment on a large administrative database of children and youth from New South Wales, Australia. Several models were fit to evaluate differences in survival rates among decades (1990-1999 vs. 2000-2010), gender, and age. RESULTS: Results showed that: 1) Overall median treatment time (i.e., median survival time) was 1.96 years (99% CI=1.93, 1.99); 2) there were small, but significant changes over time in duration of treatment; 3) females had shorter treatment duration than males; and 4) there were relatively large differences in treatment duration across age groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the majority of children and youth receive medication treatment for only a small portion of childhood/adolescence, and that there are differential patterns in treatment duration across age groups.
OBJECTIVE: Psychostimulant medication is considered a mainstay in the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); however, research suggests that the typical duration of medication treatment for children and youth may be <3 years. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychostimulant treatment persistence for children and adolescents in New South Wales, Australia. METHODS: This study used survival analysis to assess duration of medication treatment on a large administrative database of children and youth from New South Wales, Australia. Several models were fit to evaluate differences in survival rates among decades (1990-1999 vs. 2000-2010), gender, and age. RESULTS: Results showed that: 1) Overall median treatment time (i.e., median survival time) was 1.96 years (99% CI=1.93, 1.99); 2) there were small, but significant changes over time in duration of treatment; 3) females had shorter treatment duration than males; and 4) there were relatively large differences in treatment duration across age groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the majority of children and youth receive medication treatment for only a small portion of childhood/adolescence, and that there are differential patterns in treatment duration across age groups.