Zheng Chang1, Brian M D'Onofrio2, Patrick D Quinn2, Paul Lichtenstein3, Henrik Larsson4. 1. Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: zheng.chang@ki.se. 2. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. 3. Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. 4. Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Medical Sciences, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with high rates of psychiatric comorbidity, including depression. However, it is unclear whether ADHD medication increases or decreases the risk for depression. METHODS: We studied all individuals with a diagnosis of ADHD born between 1960 and 1998 in Sweden (N = 38,752). We obtained data for prescription of ADHD medication, diagnosis of depression and other psychiatric disorders, and sociodemographic factors from population-based registers. The association between ADHD medication and depression was estimated with Cox proportional hazards regression. RESULTS: After adjustment for sociodemographic and clinical confounders, ADHD medication was associated with a reduced long-term risk (i.e., 3 years later) for depression (hazard ratio = 0.58; 95% confidence interval, 0.51-0.67). The risk was lower for longer duration of ADHD medication. Also, ADHD medication was associated with reduced rates of concurrent depression; within-individual analysis suggested that occurrence of depression was 20% less common during periods when patients received ADHD medication compared with periods when they did not (hazard ratio = 0.80; 95% confidence interval, 0.70-0.92). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that ADHD medication does not increase the risk of later depression; rather, medication was associated with a reduced risk for subsequent and concurrent depression.
BACKGROUND:Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with high rates of psychiatric comorbidity, including depression. However, it is unclear whether ADHD medication increases or decreases the risk for depression. METHODS: We studied all individuals with a diagnosis of ADHD born between 1960 and 1998 in Sweden (N = 38,752). We obtained data for prescription of ADHD medication, diagnosis of depression and other psychiatric disorders, and sociodemographic factors from population-based registers. The association between ADHD medication and depression was estimated with Cox proportional hazards regression. RESULTS: After adjustment for sociodemographic and clinical confounders, ADHD medication was associated with a reduced long-term risk (i.e., 3 years later) for depression (hazard ratio = 0.58; 95% confidence interval, 0.51-0.67). The risk was lower for longer duration of ADHD medication. Also, ADHD medication was associated with reduced rates of concurrent depression; within-individual analysis suggested that occurrence of depression was 20% less common during periods when patients received ADHD medication compared with periods when they did not (hazard ratio = 0.80; 95% confidence interval, 0.70-0.92). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that ADHD medication does not increase the risk of later depression; rather, medication was associated with a reduced risk for subsequent and concurrent depression.
Authors: K van der Marel; V Bouet; G F Meerhoff; T Freret; M Boulouard; F Dauphin; A Klomp; P J Lucassen; J R Homberg; R M Dijkhuizen; L Reneman Journal: Neuroscience Date: 2015-04-28 Impact factor: 3.590
Authors: Samuele Cortese; Martin Holtmann; Tobias Banaschewski; Jan Buitelaar; David Coghill; Marina Danckaerts; Ralf W Dittmann; John Graham; Eric Taylor; Joseph Sergeant Journal: J Child Psychol Psychiatry Date: 2013-01-07 Impact factor: 8.982
Authors: Zheng Chang; Paul Lichtenstein; Brian M D'Onofrio; Arvid Sjölander; Henrik Larsson Journal: JAMA Psychiatry Date: 2014-03 Impact factor: 21.596
Authors: Zheng Chang; Laura Ghirardi; Patrick D Quinn; Philip Asherson; Brian M D'Onofrio; Henrik Larsson Journal: Biol Psychiatry Date: 2019-04-17 Impact factor: 13.382
Authors: Mark L Wolraich; Joseph F Hagan; Carla Allan; Eugenia Chan; Dale Davison; Marian Earls; Steven W Evans; Susan K Flinn; Tanya Froehlich; Jennifer Frost; Joseph R Holbrook; Christoph Ulrich Lehmann; Herschel Robert Lessin; Kymika Okechukwu; Karen L Pierce; Jonathan D Winner; William Zurhellen Journal: Pediatrics Date: 2019-10 Impact factor: 7.124
Authors: Joseph Biederman; Maura DiSalvo; Ronna Fried; K Yvonne Woodworth; Itai Biederman; Stephen V Faraone Journal: J Adolesc Health Date: 2019-07-23 Impact factor: 5.012
Authors: Patrick D Quinn; Zheng Chang; Kwan Hur; Robert D Gibbons; Benjamin B Lahey; Martin E Rickert; Arvid Sjölander; Paul Lichtenstein; Henrik Larsson; Brian M D'Onofrio Journal: Am J Psychiatry Date: 2017-06-29 Impact factor: 18.112
Authors: Veera M Rajagopal; Jinjie Duan; Laura Vilar-Ribó; Jakob Grove; Tetyana Zayats; J Antoni Ramos-Quiroga; F Kyle Satterstrom; María Soler Artigas; Jonas Bybjerg-Grauholm; Marie Bækvad-Hansen; Thomas D Als; Anders Rosengren; Mark J Daly; Benjamin M Neale; Merete Nordentoft; Thomas Werge; Ole Mors; David M Hougaard; Preben B Mortensen; Marta Ribasés; Anders D Børglum; Ditte Demontis Journal: Nat Genet Date: 2022-08-04 Impact factor: 41.307
Authors: Emily Carias; Dennis Fricke; Abisha Vijayashanthar; Lauren Smith; Rathini Somanesan; Connor Martin; Leanna Kalinowski; Daniel Popoola; Michael Hadjiargyrou; David E Komatsu; Panayotis K Thanos Journal: Behav Brain Res Date: 2018-08-24 Impact factor: 3.332
Authors: Adi Stern; Jessica C Agnew-Blais; Andrea Danese; Helen L Fisher; Timothy Matthews; Guilherme V Polanczyk; Jasmin Wertz; Louise Arseneault Journal: J Child Psychol Psychiatry Date: 2020-02-29 Impact factor: 8.982