Trajectories of Growth Associated With Long-Term Stimulant Medication in the Multimodal Treatment Study of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Objective: To estimate long-term stimulant treatment associations on standardized height, weight, and body mass index trajectories from childhood to adulthood in the Multimodal Treatment Study of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA). Method: Of 579 children with DSM-IV ADHD−combined type at baseline (aged 7.0–9.9 years) and 289 classmates (local normative comparison group [LNCG]), 568 and 258 respectively, were assessed 8 times over 16 years (final mean age = 24.7). Parent interview data established subgroups with self-selected Consistent (n = 53, 9%), Inconsistent (n = 374, 66%), and Negligible (n = 141, 25%) stimulant medication use, as well as patients starting stimulants prior to MTA entry (n = 211, 39%). Height and weight growth trajectories were calculated for each subgroup. Results: Height z scores trajectories differed among subgroups (F = 2.22, p <.0001) and by stimulant use prior to study entry (F = 2.22, p <.001). The subgroup-by-assessment interaction was significant (F = 2.81, p <.0001). Paired comparisons revealed significant subgroup differences at endpoint: Consistent was shorter than Negligible (−0.66 z units /−4.06 cm /1.6 inches, t = −3.17, p < 0.0016), Consistent shorter than Inconsistent (−0.45 z units /−2.74 cm /−1.08 inches, t = −2.39, p <.0172), and the Consistent shorter than LNCG (−0.54 z units/+3.34 cm/ 1.31 inches, t = −3.30, p < 0.001). Weight z scores initially diverged among subgroups, converged in adolescence, and then diverged again in adulthood when the Consistent outweighed the LNCG (+ 3.561 z units /+7.47 kg /+16.46 lb, p <.0001). Conclusion: Compared with those negligibly medicated and the LNCG, 16 years of consistent stimulant treatment of children with ADHD in the MTA was associated with changes in height trajectory, a reduction in adult height, and an increase in weight and body mass index. Clinical trial registration information: Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA); https://clinicaltrials.gov/; NCT00000388

Developmental progression to early adult binge drinking and marijuana use from worsening versus stable trajectories of adolescent attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and delinquency

Aims: To examine the association between developmental trajectories of inattention, hyperactivity-impulsivity and delinquency through childhood and adolescence (ages 8-16years) and subsequent binge drinking and marijuana use in early adulthood (age 21years). Design: Prospective naturalistic follow-up of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) previously enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Treatment-phase assessments occurred at 3, 9 and 14 months after randomization; follow-up assessments occurred at 24 months, 36 months, and 6, 8 and 12 years after randomization. Setting: Secondary analysis of data from the Multimodal Treatment Study of ADHD (MTA), a multi-site RCT comparing the effects of careful medication management, intensive behavior therapy, their combination, and r

Adolescent substance use in the multimodal treatment study of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (MTA) as a function of childhood ADHD, random assignment to childhood treatments, and subsequent medication

Objective: To determine long-term effects on substance use and substance use disorder (SUD), up to 8 years after childhood enrollment, of the randomly assigned 14-month treatments in the multisite Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA; n = 436); to test whether medication at follow-up, cumulative psychostimulant treatment over time, or both relate to substance use/SUD; and to compare substance use/SUD in the ADHD sample to the non-ADHD childhood classmate comparison group (n = 261). Method: Mixed-effects regression models with planned contrasts were used for all tests except the important cumulative stimulant treatment question, for which propensity score matching analysis was used. Results: The originally randomized treatment groups did not differ significantly on substance use/SUD by the 8-year follow-up or earlier (mean age = 17 years). Neither medication at follow-up (mostly stimulants) nor cumulative stimulant treatment was associated with adolescent substance use/SUD. Substance use at all time points, including use of two or more substances and SUD, were each greater in the ADHD than in the non-ADHD samples, regardless of sex. Conclusions: Medication for ADHD did not protect from, or contribute to, visible risk of substance use or SUD by adolescence, whether analyzed as randomized treatment assignment in childhood, as medication at follow-up, or as cumulative stimulant treatment over an 8-year follow-up from childhood. These results suggest the need to identify alternative or adjunctive adolescent-focused approaches to substance abuse prevention and treatment for boys an

Childhood Predictors of Adult Functional Outcomes in the Multimodal Treatment Study of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA)

Objective Recent results from the Multimodal Treatment Study of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD; MTA) have demonstrated impairments in several functioning domains in adults with childhood ADHD. The childhood predictors of these adult functional outcomes are not adequately understood. The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of childhood demographic, clinical, and family factors on adult functional outcomes in individuals with and without childhood ADHD from the MTA cohort. Method Regressions were used to determine associations of childhood factors (age range 7–10 years) of family income, IQ, comorbidity (internalizing, externalizing, and total number of non-ADHD diagnoses), parenting styles, parental education, number of household members, parental marital problems, parent–child relationships, and ADHD symptom severity with adult outcomes (mean age 25 years) of occupational functioning, educational attainment, emotional functioning, sexual behavior, and justice involvement in participants with (n = 579) and without (n = 258) ADHD. Results Predictors of adult functional outcomes in ADHD included clinical factors such as baseline ADHD severity, IQ, and comorbidity; demographic factors such as family income, number of household members and parental education; and family factors such as parental monitoring and parental marital problems. Predictors of adult outcomes were generally comparable for children with and without ADHD. Conclusion Childhood ADHD symptoms, IQ, and household income levels are important predictors of adult functional outcomes. Management of these areas early on, through timely treatments for ADHD symptoms, and providing additional support to children with lower IQ and from households with low incomes, could assist in improving adult functioning

Defining ADHD symptom persistence in adulthood: optimizing sensitivity and specificity

Objective: Longitudinal studies of children diagnosed with ADHD report widely ranging ADHD persistence rates in adulthood (5–75%). This study documents how information source (parent vs. self-report), method (rating scale vs. interview), and symptom threshold (DSM vs. norm-based) influence reported ADHD persistence rates in adulthood. Method: Five hundred seventy-nine children were diagnosed with DSM-IV ADHD-Combined Type at baseline (ages 7.0–9.9 years) 289 classmates served as a local normative comparison group (LNCG), 476 and 241 of whom respectively were evaluated in adulthood (Mean Age = 24.7). Parent and self-reports of symptoms and impairment on rating scales and structured interviews were used to investigate ADHD persistence in adulthood. Results: Persistence rates were higher when using parent rather than self-reports, structured interviews rather than rating scales (for self-report but not parent report), and a norm-based (NB) threshold of 4 symptoms rather than DSM criteria. Receiver-Operating Characteristics (ROC) analyses revealed that sensitivity and specificity were optimized by combining parent and self-reports on a rating scale and applying a NB threshold. Conclusion: The interview format optimizes young adult self-reporting when parent reports are not available. However, the combination of parent and self-reports from rating scales, using an ‘or’ rule and a NB threshold optimized the balance between sensitivity and specificity. With this definition, 60% of the ADHD group demonstrated symptom persistence and 41% met both symptom and impairment criteria in adulthood

Young adult outcomes in the follow-up of the multimodal treatment study of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: symptom persistence, source discrepancy, and height suppression

Background: The Multimodal Treatment Study (MTA) began as a 14-month randomized clinical trial of behavioral and pharmacological treatments of 579 children (7–10 years of age) diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-combined type. It transitioned into an observational long-term follow-up of 515 cases consented for continuation and 289 classmates (258 without ADHD) added as a local normative comparison group (LNCG), with assessments 2–16 years after baseline. Methods: Primary (symptom severity) and secondary (adult height) outcomes in adulthood were specified. Treatment was monitored to age 18, and naturalistic subgroups were formed based on three patterns of long-term use of stimulant medication (Consistent, Inconsistent, and Negligible). For the follow-up, hypothesis-generating analyses were performed on outcomes in early adulthood (at 25 years of age). Planned comparisons were used to estimate ADHD-LNCG differences reflecting persistence of symptoms and naturalistic subgroup differences reflecting benefit (symptom reduction) and cost (height suppression) associated with extended use of medication. Results: For ratings of symptom severity, the ADHD-LNCG comparison was statistically significant for the parent/self-report average (0.51 ± 0.04, p <.0001, d = 1.11), documenting symptom persistence, and for the parent/self-report difference (0.21 ± 0.04, p <.0001, d =.60), documenting source discrepancy, but the comparisons of naturalistic subgroups reflecting medication effects were not significant. For adult height, the ADHD group was 1.29 ± 0.55 cm shorter than the LNCG (p <.01, d =.21), and the comparisons of the naturalistic subgroups were significant: the treated group with the Consistent or Inconsistent pattern was 2.55 ± 0.73 cm shorter than the subgroup with the Negligible pattern (p <.0005, d =.42), and within the treated gro