Publications - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Secrets of Your ADHD Brain, by William Dodson, MD, ADDitude, Mar 27 2019.

The Creativity of ADHD, by Holly White, Scientific American, Mar 5 2019.

Even with insurance, getting mental health treatment is a struggle in Mass., study says, by Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, Dec 11 2018.

“Massachusetts residents who need health care are colliding with a hard reality: Having medical insurance doesn’t guarantee you can get treatment, particularly for psychiatric problems. More than half of adults who sought mental health or addiction treatment in recent months had difficulty getting that care, according to a survey of 2,201 residents by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation in Boston...The obstacle wasn’t a lack of insurance; the vast majority of patients were insured. Rather, the problem was that providers either did not accept their insurance or their practices were closed to new patients. ”

Younger siblings of kids with autism and ADHD have higher risk of these disorders, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Dec 11 2018.

“Children who have an older brother or sister with autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be more likely to develop these conditions than kids who don’t have an older sibling with these neurological problems, a new study suggests. When an older sibling had autism, younger kids were more than 30 times more likely to be diagnosed with autism and three times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than children whose siblings didn’t have these disorders, researchers report in JAMA Pediatrics. ”

Infections May Raise The Risk Of Mental Illness In Children, by Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, Dec 5 2018.

“Researchers have traced a connection between some infections and mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder. New research from Denmark bolsters that connection. The study, published Thursday in JAMA Psychiatry, shows that a wide variety of infections, even common ones like bronchitis, are linked to a higher risk of many mental illnesses in children and adolescents...For all mental illnesses — excluding depression and bipolar disorder — the team found that being hospitalized for an infection was associated with a 84 percent higher risk of subsequently being diagnosed with a mental health disorder at a hospital and a 42 percent increased risk of being prescribed a medication for mental illness. ”

Youngest Children In A Class Are Most Likely To Get ADHD Diagnosis, by Richard Harris, NPR, Nov 28 2018.

“The youngest children in a school class are most likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, when in fact their comparatively fidgety behavior may be due to their relative immaturity, according to a study published online Wednesday...Scouring a database of insurance claims encompassing more than 400,000 children, the researchers categorized children by their month of birth. And the report in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that the youngest children in the classroom — those born in August — were about 35 percent more likely to get a diagnosis of ADHD and to be treated for the condition...This result matters for the individual children who may have been inappropriately diagnosed and treated. "You want to be careful about starting a young child on this medication," Jena says. ”

States may now broaden mental health treatment under Medicaid, by Michael Nedelman, CNN, Nov 13 2018.

“The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services may now allow for states to pursue Medicaid reimbursements for short-term inpatient treatment in mental health facilities despite a decades-old exclusion, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced Tuesday. In a letter to state Medicaid directors, CMS detailed a new Medicaid waiver opportunity through which states may bypass longstanding reimbursement restrictions on inpatient psychiatric treatment, which apply to mental health facilities with more than 16 beds. Azar said the original policy has posed a "significant barrier" to people getting the treatments they need. ”

Mental health diagnoses rising among U.S. college students, by Carolyn Crist, Reuters, Nov 1 2018.

“A range of common mental health conditions are being diagnosed more often in U.S. university students, according to a study that also finds students are more willing to seek help than in the past. Based on surveys of more than 450,000 college students at 452 institutions, researchers found that from 2009 to 2015, the proportion who report having a diagnosis or being treated has gone up for anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, insomnia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and panic attacks...The study wasn’t designed to determine why diagnoses might be up or down, the authors caution. The results raise the question of whether college students’ mental health has been deteriorating, or whether it only appears this way because efforts to encourage students to seek help have succeeded, they write. ”

ADHD diagnoses may be rising in U.S., by Linda Carroll, Reuters, Aug 31 2018.

“The number of children diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the U.S. appears to have increased dramatically, a new study finds. Between 1997 and 2016, the proportion of children diagnosed with ADHD rose from 6.1 percent to 10.2 percent, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open...Experts suggested that some of the “diagnoses” might be incorrect. 'You really have to interpret the study with caution,' said Amie Bettencourt, an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. 'The authors acknowledge that they used parents’ reports of whether a doctor or health professional had told them their child had ADHD,' Bettencourt said. 'That opens a can of worms. There are a lot of conditions that include attention problems and hyperactivity as symptoms. It’s possible it’s on the rise. But it’s also possible that these could be symptoms of something else.' ”

Which Drugs Work Best for ADHD? Large Study Zeroes in on Two, by Robert Preidt, US News , Aug 8 2018.

“-- Researchers have identified what they describe as the safest, most effective short-term drug treatments for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It's methylphenidate for kids and amphetamines for adults, according to a new study. ”

ADHD study links teens' symptoms with digital media use, by Jacqueline Howard, CNN, Jul 17 2018.

“The more teens check social media and stream video, the more likely they might develop symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a new study suggests. The study, published in the medical journal JAMA on Tuesday, sheds light on how more research is needed to determine whether symptoms of the disorder, commonly called ADHD, are possibly caused by digital media use...After analyzing the self-reported symptoms and digital media survey responses, the researchers found that each additional high-frequency engagement in a digital media activity was associated with higher odds of having ADHD symptoms at each follow-up point. ”

Beyond drugs, it's not clear which ADHD treatments work, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Jun 1 2018.

“Although many doctors offer patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) a variety of treatments in addition to drugs, a new review suggests there’s not enough evidence that medication alternatives work...Because ADHD can mean different symptoms from one kid to the next, children need an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis before it’s really possible to decide which treatments might work best in their situation, said Dr. Timothy Wilens, chief of the division of child and adolescent psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston...'For children over age 6 years, medications should be considered first line therapy for ADHD and nonpharmacological treatments should be considered adjunct to medication in specific groups,' Wilens added. ”

Unneccessary and accidental use of ADHD drugs increases over 60%, study suggests, by Mark Lieber , CNN, May 21 2018.

Scans Show Differences in Brains of Preschoolers With A.D.H.D., by Perri Klass, M.D., New York Times, Mar 26 2018.

“A new study that found significant differences in the brains of preschoolers with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may help parents understand that extremes of behavior can reflect differences in biological 'wiring.' Those who feel blamed — or blame themselves — for their small children’s behavioral issues will be likely to watch with interest as this long-term study progresses...Dr. Mahone, the director of the department of neuropsychology at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, and his colleagues did advanced brain scans on 90 4- and 5-year-old children. Of those, 52 had symptoms of A.D.H.D., and the other 38 were carefully matched controls, similar in age, gender, socioeconomic status, I.Q. and language function. The brains of the children with A.D.H.D. symptoms were significantly different than the brains of the control children, with 'really widespread changes,' Dr. Mahone said. ”

ADHD Meds May Improve Mood in Healthy Humans, by Rick Nauert, PhD, Psych Central, Mar 15 2018.

“New research finds that when healthy people take attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs, the medication stimulates the release of a chemical in the brain associated with positive emotion. ADHD medications cause a surge in the neurotransmitter glutamate in key parts of the brain. Subsequently, this increase is associated with changes in positive emotion. ”