ADHD medications in UK women increase 20-fold in a decade
Prescriptions of ADHD medicines has tripled in the UK over the past decade with a particular stark increase in women aged over 25 years, researchers have reported.
The UK was found to have the steepest increase in use of the medicines when compared with four other European countries, the figures showed.
Between 2010 and 2023, prevalence of ADHD medication rose from 0.12% to 0.39% in the UK.
The Netherlands seeing a doubling from 0.67% to 1.56%, researchers from the University of Oxford found.
While the extent and trend of use over time among children and adolescents varied across countries, both the prevalence and incidence of ADHD medication use increased among adults in all countries, which also included Spain, Germany and Belgium
In the UK, prevalence among adults aged over 25 years increased from 0.01% in 2010 to approximately 0.20% in 2023, representing a more than 20-fold increase in women and fifteen-fold in men, the team reported in The Lancet Regional Health Europe.
Although ADHD medication use remained higher among males, the sex gap in treatment narrowed over time and with increasing age, the researchers said.
Use of guanfacine and lisdexamfetamine also increased in all countries following market approval, they reported.
The information on trends was useful for health services planning but could also mitigate potential medicine shortages, they concluded.
Future studies should look at safety and effectiveness of ADHD medication, particularly among adults and among people with psychiatric comorbidities or comedications, they added.
‘We observed a consistent increase in ADHD medication use across Europe, but the most striking changes were among adults, especially women,’ said Xintong Li, the lead study author at Oxford.
‘These findings likely reflect growing awareness and diagnosis of adult ADHD, but they also raise important questions about long-term treatment patterns and care needs.’
A report this month warned that the NHS has become ‘heavily dependent’ on private ADHD providers, who are pushing ICBs massively over budget with little oversight.
The Centre for Health and the Public Interest (CHPI) found NHS spending on private ADHD services has risen 252% over a three-year period.
In December, the Government launched an independent review into rising diagnoses of ADHD and autism, as well as other mental health conditions in England.
It will be investigating the reasons behind the growing prevalence and the knock-on demand for services in both adults and children.
Pulse exclusively revealed in March that the review would take place, when the Government said it would crack down on ‘unregulated private sector’ therapists and counsellors.
GPs have been pushing back against shared care agreements for ADHD partly due to the complexities and bureaucracy of dealing with multiple private providers under Right to Choose.
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