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   From: shitheads@mediamatters.com   
      
   The number of young adults taking drugs for ADHD has soared in   
   five years, particularly among young women, whose use of the   
   drugs is up 85 percent, according to a new report.   
      
   The report, from prescription provider Express Scripts, finds a   
   large overall increase in the number of Americans treated for   
   attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a 36 percent rise in   
   just five years. More than 4.8 million people covered by private   
   health insurance insurance have filled at least one prescription   
   for ADHD, the report finds.   
      
   "The rapid increase in adult use of these medications is   
   striking, especially since there is very little research on how   
   these treatments affect an older population," said Express   
   Scripts’ Dr. David Muzina. "It signals a need to look more   
   closely at how and why physicians prescribe these medications   
   for adults, particularly women, who may turn to these   
   medications, or experience symptoms of attention disorders, as a   
   result of keeping up with the multiple demands on their time."   
      
   The findings don't surprise Stephen Hinshaw, a professor of   
   psychology at the University of California Berkeley who has   
   studied ADHD in girls and young women. "These are women who need   
   help," Hinshaw told NBC News.   
      
   It may partly reflect the rise in diagnoses among children.   
   Children are still the primary users of the drug and their use   
   was up nearly 19 percent, but adult use rose even faster, up   
   more than 53 percent, the report said.   
      
   According to the American Psychiatric Association, 5 percent of   
   U.S. children have ADHD. But the Centers for Disease Control and   
   Prevention points to studies showing that 11 percent and more of   
   kids have been diagnosed with ADHD, up from 7.8 percent in 2003.   
   Other reports show diagnoses have jumped 24 percent in a decade.   
      
   And as kids get diagnosed, so do their parents, many of whom   
   didn’t recognize the symptoms until they spoke with a specialist   
   about their children.   
      
   “Since females tend to present the inattentive form of ADHD and   
   do not display disruptive behavior in school, their symptoms may   
   be overlooked in childhood. As they age, they may become more   
   aware of their symptoms and consult their physician,” the   
   Express Scripts’ report notes.   
      
   Just under a third of people who had ADHD as children never   
   “grew out of it”, William Barbaresi and colleagues at Boston   
   Children’s Hospital found last year.   
      
   The Express Scripts’ study only covers people with private   
   insurance, but that’s more than half the U.S. population. Their   
   team looked at pharmacy claims of 400,000 people.   
      
   “Among adults, women far outnumber men in their use of ADHD   
   treatments, the reverse of childhood trends where only half as   
   many girls as boys take ADHD medications,” the report finds.   
      
   “The number of males using ADHD drugs plummets after age 18,   
   while women ages 19 to 25 surpass younger girls’ use of these   
   medications, 4.4 percent vs. 3.5 percent respectively in 2012."   
      
   Hinshaw said the rise in diagnoses for women may reflect a lag   
   in recognizing the problem. "We found that by their early 20s,   
   girls with ADHD were suffering academically just like boys with   
   ADHD. They were having difficult relationships, just like boys   
   with ADHD," he said.   
      
   But the girls were not acting out. Instead, they were turning   
   their distress inwards, cutting themselves, thinking about   
   suicide and even attempting it. "This (rise in diagnoses) would   
   be helpful if it eliminated this self-injurious behavior," said   
   Hinshaw, who has co-written a new book, "The ADHD Explosion."   
      
   ADHD is a very broad diagnosis and covers symptoms from an   
   inability to concentrate and focus to extreme hyperactivity and   
   a lack of ability to control impulses. It’s not clear what the   
   causes are, although there’s a clear genetic link.   
      
   “Research does not support the popularly held views that ADHD is   
   caused by eating too much sugar, watching too much television,   
   parenting, or social and environmental factors such as poverty   
   or family chaos,” the CDC advises. “Of course, many things,   
   including these, might make symptoms worse, especially in   
   certain people. But the evidence is not strong enough to   
   conclude that they are the main causes of ADHD.”   
      
   Many experts say it’s the availability of treatments that has   
   caused the rise in diagnoses. There’s no point getting a   
   condition diagnosed if there isn’t anything you can do about it.   
   Now several drugs can be prescribed, especially stimulants such   
   as Ritalin, also known as methylphenidate, Concerta and   
   Strattera.   
      
   CDC says up to 80 percent of kids are helped by the medications.   
      
   Behavioral approaches can also help. And children diagnosed with   
   ADHD can access special services in schools, another possible   
   incentive to get a diagnosis and a prescription.   
      
   http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/number-young-adults-   
   adhd-drugs-soars-n50856   
      
       
      
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