ADHD Drugs Not Effective in Many Young Children, Study Concludes

Treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) does not appear to help many young children, a new study concludes.

The study followed 186 children, ages 3 to 5, who had moderate to severe ADHD. Six years after their diagnosis, about 90 percent still showed symptoms such as over-activity, impulse control or inattentiveness, according to Bloomberg.

Two-thirds of the children were on medication. These children did not show significant differences in ADHD severity, compared with those who were not taking drugs. Almost two-thirds of treated children had significant hyperactivity and impulsivity, compared with 58 percent of those not taking medication.

“ADHD in preschoolers is a chronic and rather persistent condition, one that requires better long-term behavioral and pharmacological treatments than we currently have,” study author Mark Riddle of the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, said in a news release.

The study appears in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adult Psychiatry.