Skip to main content

Association Between Stimulant Treatment and Substance Use Through Adolescence Into Early Adulthood.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Molina, BSG; Kennedy, TM; Howard, AL; Swanson, JM; Arnold, LE; Mitchell, JT; Stehli, A; Kennedy, EH; Epstein, JN; Hechtman, LT; Hinshaw, SP ...
Published in: JAMA Psychiatry
September 1, 2023

IMPORTANCE: Possible associations between stimulant treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and subsequent substance use remain debated and clinically relevant. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of stimulant treatment of ADHD with subsequent substance use using the Multimodal Treatment Study of ADHD (MTA), which provides a unique opportunity to test this association while addressing methodologic complexities (principally, multiple dynamic confounding variables). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: MTA was a multisite study initiated at 6 sites in the US and 1 in Canada as a 14-month randomized clinical trial of medication and behavior therapy for ADHD but transitioned to a longitudinal observational study. Participants were recruited between 1994 and 1996. Multi-informant assessments included comprehensively assessed demographic, clinical (including substance use), and treatment (including stimulant treatment) variables. Children aged 7 to 9 years with rigorously diagnosed DSM-IV combined-type ADHD were repeatedly assessed until a mean age of 25 years. Analysis took place between April 2018 and February 2023. EXPOSURE: Stimulant treatment of ADHD was measured prospectively from baseline for 16 years (10 assessments) initially using parent report followed by young adult report. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Frequency of heavy drinking, marijuana use, daily cigarette smoking, and other substance use were confidentially self-reported with a standardized substance use questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 579 children (mean [SD] age at baseline, 8.5 [0.8] years; 465 [80%] male) were analyzed. Generalized multilevel linear models showed no evidence that current (B [SE] range, -0.62 [0.55] to 0.34 [0.47]) or prior stimulant treatment (B [SE] range, -0.06 [0.26] to 0.70 [0.37]) or their interaction (B [SE] range, -0.49 [0.70] to 0.86 [0.68]) were associated with substance use after adjusting for developmental trends in substance use and age. Marginal structural models adjusting for dynamic confounding by demographic, clinical, and familial factors revealed no evidence that more years of stimulant treatment (B [SE] range, -0.003 [0.01] to 0.04 [0.02]) or continuous, uninterrupted stimulant treatment (B [SE] range, -0.25 [0.33] to -0.03 [0.10]) were associated with adulthood substance use. Findings were the same for substance use disorder as outcome. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This study found no evidence that stimulant treatment was associated with increased or decreased risk for later frequent use of alcohol, marijuana, cigarette smoking, or other substances used for adolescents and young adults with childhood ADHD. These findings do not appear to result from other factors that might drive treatment over time and findings held even after considering opposing age-related trends in stimulant treatment and substance use.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

JAMA Psychiatry

DOI

EISSN

2168-6238

Publication Date

September 1, 2023

Volume

80

Issue

9

Start / End Page

933 / 941

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Substance-Related Disorders
  • Marijuana Use
  • Male
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Child
  • Central Nervous System Stimulants
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Molina, B. S. G., Kennedy, T. M., Howard, A. L., Swanson, J. M., Arnold, L. E., Mitchell, J. T., … Vitiello, B. (2023). Association Between Stimulant Treatment and Substance Use Through Adolescence Into Early Adulthood. JAMA Psychiatry, 80(9), 933–941. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.2157
Molina, Brooke S. G., Traci M. Kennedy, Andrea L. Howard, James M. Swanson, L Eugene Arnold, John T. Mitchell, Annamarie Stehli, et al. “Association Between Stimulant Treatment and Substance Use Through Adolescence Into Early Adulthood.JAMA Psychiatry 80, no. 9 (September 1, 2023): 933–41. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.2157.
Molina BSG, Kennedy TM, Howard AL, Swanson JM, Arnold LE, Mitchell JT, et al. Association Between Stimulant Treatment and Substance Use Through Adolescence Into Early Adulthood. JAMA Psychiatry. 2023 Sep 1;80(9):933–41.
Molina, Brooke S. G., et al. “Association Between Stimulant Treatment and Substance Use Through Adolescence Into Early Adulthood.JAMA Psychiatry, vol. 80, no. 9, Sept. 2023, pp. 933–41. Pubmed, doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.2157.
Molina BSG, Kennedy TM, Howard AL, Swanson JM, Arnold LE, Mitchell JT, Stehli A, Kennedy EH, Epstein JN, Hechtman LT, Hinshaw SP, Vitiello B. Association Between Stimulant Treatment and Substance Use Through Adolescence Into Early Adulthood. JAMA Psychiatry. 2023 Sep 1;80(9):933–941.

Published In

JAMA Psychiatry

DOI

EISSN

2168-6238

Publication Date

September 1, 2023

Volume

80

Issue

9

Start / End Page

933 / 941

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Substance-Related Disorders
  • Marijuana Use
  • Male
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Child
  • Central Nervous System Stimulants
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity