tion on other therapies that patients received.
“In contrast to most pharmacoepidemiological studies on this topic, the new study finds an association between stimulant treatment and a wide range of cardiovascular events,” he told Medscape Medical News.
“However, without more information on the other medications that the patients were receiving, such as corticosteroids, erythromycin, and oral contraceptives, and the distribution of known disease risk factors, such as prothrombotic states, hyperlipidemia, asthma, and obesity, it is difficult to evaluate the clinical significance of the current findings.”
Among the key challenges in any of the efforts to evaluate cardiovascular risk associated with ADHD psychostimulants is the simple fact that such events, though serious when they do occur, are still highly uncommon, Dr. Olfson added.
“Cardiovascular events in ostensibly healthy young people with ADHD are thankfully quite rare,” he said.
“The [events’] uncommonness has made it exceptionally difficult to determine who is at risk for these potentially catastrophic events.”
The authors and Dr. Olfson report no relevant financial relationships. Dr. Westover reports that he is the recipient of a National Institutes of Health grant for research into ADHD drug risks.
J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. Published online June 23, 2014. Full text