Methylphenidate and Sleep Difficulties in Children and Adolescents With ADHD: Results From the 2-Year Naturalistic Pharmacovigilance ADDUCE Study

Alexander Häge, Kenneth K.C. Man, Sarah K. Inglis, Jan Buitelaar, Sara Carucci, Marina Danckaerts, Ralf W. Dittmann, Bruno Falissard, Peter Garas, Chris Hollis, Kerstin Konrad, Hanna Kovshoff, Elizabeth Liddle, Suzanne McCarthy, Antje Neubert, Peter Nagy, Eric Rosenthal, Edmund J.S. Sonuga-Barke, Alessandro Zuddas, Ian C.K. WongDavid Coghill, Tobias Banaschewski*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Objective: Short-term RCTs have demonstrated that MPH-treatment significantly reduces ADHD-symptoms, but is also associated with adverse events, including sleep problems. However, data on long-term effects of MPH on sleep remain limited. Methods: We performed a 2-year naturalistic prospective pharmacovigilance multicentre study. Participants were recruited into three groups: ADHD patients intending to start MPH-treatment (MPH-group), those not intending to use ADHD-medication (no-MPH-group), and a non-ADHD control-group. Sleep problems were assessed with the Children’s-Sleep-Habits-Questionnaire (CSHQ). Results: 1,410 participants were enrolled. Baseline mean CSHQ-total-sleep-scores could be considered clinically significant for the MPH-group and the no-MPH-group, but not for controls. The only group to show a significant increase in any aspect of sleep from baseline to 24-months was the control-group. Comparing the MPH- to the no-MPH-group no differences in total-sleep-score changes were found. Conclusion: Our findings support that sleep-problems are common in ADHD, but don’t suggest significant negative long-term effects of MPH on sleep.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)699-707
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of attention disorders
Volume28
Issue number5
Early online date22 Feb 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2024

Keywords

  • ADHD
  • long-term safety
  • methylphenidate
  • pharmacovigilance
  • sleep problems

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