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Large numbers of preschoolers are being prescribed ADHD medications within 30 days of diagnosis, against medical guidelines, a new large-scale study shows.
Despite guidelines that state children should receive behavioural therapy before being prescribed ADHD medications, the new research shows that 42% of preschoolers diagnosed with ADHD receive medication within 30 days and without any form of behavioral therapy.
As Study Finds reports, “The largest study of its kind examined electronic health records from more than 712,000 children seen at eight major pediatric health systems across the United States between 2016 and 2023. Among the 9,708 children who received an ADHD diagnosis between ages 4 and 5, over two-thirds were ultimately prescribed medication before turning 7.”
ADHD is estimated to affect 10% of American children, with diagnoses on the rise.
In 2022, a national survey showed 2.4% of American children aged 3 to 5 had an ADHD diagnosis.
Current guidelines from the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) state that children aged between 4 and 5 should first receive behavioral therapy before they are given medication. Medication should only be considered if therapy fails or if symptoms cause significant disruption.
Therapy is favored over medication, because evidence suggests it is more effective and also because of uncertainty over the effects of medication on children’s developing brains.
Across the eight health systems studied in the new research, between 26% and 49% of preschoolers were prescribed medication within a month of diagnosis.
Tylenol use during pregnancy could be one important cause of the explosion of autism and ADHD in the US, Robert F. Kennedy Jr is expected to announce soon as he presents the findings of his Department’s investigation into these conditions.
The Wall Street Journal reports: “Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to announce that pregnant women’s use of an over-the-counter pain medication is potentially linked to autism in a report that will also suggest a medicine derived from folate can be used to treat symptoms of the developmental disorder in some people, people familiar with the matter said.
“The report, expected this month from the Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], is likely to suggest as being among the potential causes of autism low levels of folate, an important vitamin, and Tylenol taken during pregnancy, people familiar with the matter said.”
Tylenol, an over-the-counter painkiller, is widely used in the US, including by pregnant women.
Studies have indicated a link between use of Tylenol during pregnancy and autism / adhd.
Hundreds of lawsuits linking acetaminophen to autism or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder have been filed, though a federal judge in 2023 ruled that the scientific evidence behind the claims was unreliable.
Earlier this year, Kennedy promised to reveal the environmental causes of autism.
“By September we will know what has caused the autism epidemic,” he said in an April cabinet meeting with President Trump.
NIH director, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services director, Dr. Mehmet Oz, are all helping craft the autism report.
A spokesman for HHS urged caution until the release of the final report.
“We are using gold-standard science to get to the bottom of America’s unprecedented rise in autism rates,” the spokesman said.
“Until we release the final report, any claims about its contents are nothing more than speculation.”
Shares of Tylenol maker Kenvue fell sharply on Friday after The Wall Street Journal’s report.
A company spokesperson told the Journal that it had “continuously evaluated the science and continues to believe there is no causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism.”
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