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ADHD and psychostimulants — overdiagnosis and overprescription
Author(s) -
Dunlop Adrian J,
Newman Louise K
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/mja15.01387
Subject(s) - overdiagnosis , library science , newcastle upon tyne , medicine , psychology , history , computer science , art history , pathology
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most widely studied child and adolescent mental health disorder, yet it remains the subject of ongoing debate, both about the validity of the diagnosis and its treatment. Increasing rates of psychostimulant prescription highlight the possibility of overprescription and overdiagnosis with the implication that disorders of children in particular are being “medicalised”. There are risks for children that the use of stimulant medication is a simplistic attempt to find solutions to more complex problems underlying behavioural and emotional difficulties1, and risks in adolescents and adults prescribed or exposed to stimulants, including poisonings, as identified in this issue of the MJA.2