Swedish medical researchers say that kids who take ADHD meds perform better on college or university admissions tests than youngsters whose symptoms are left untreated.
Most doctors consider ADHD drugs generally effective at reducing the symptoms of ADHD, but until now, researchers have tended to neglect research into the real-life impact on patients beyond managing symptoms. Scholars at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden aimed to close this gap in our knowledge with a Sweden-wide cohort study. Does treating the symptoms of ADHD benefit the kids beyond their day to day routine?
Do ADHD meds help kids in admissions tests?
In a 2017 research study published in JAMA Psychiatry, they analyzed the medical records and test scores of 61,640 teens and young adults with a diagnosis of ADHD between 2006 and 2013 to determine if ADHD medication use leads to higher test scores on post-secondary entrance examinations.
The scientists extracted treatment records from the Swedish national registers and compared it to data from the Swedish Aptitude Test. They used a technique called ‘within-patient’ design, comparing the test scores of patients both with ADHD medication and without. The test, in this case, was the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (SweSAT)- the university and college entrance exam. Students routinely take the test multiple times to win a place on a post-secondary course.
Revealing Results
The results indicated that people with ADHD using meds took the test fewer times than those without ADHD, but at a later age on average (20.6 years vs 22.1 years old). ADHD diagnosed Kids who were medicated earned an average of 10 points higher on the test than test takers with ADHD and no meds.
When the scientists compared individual’s own scores between medicated and un-medicated periods, they found a 4.8-point increase when using ADHD medications.
So to reiterate, kids using ADHD meds as prescribed, performed better in college admissions exams than their peers. What’s more, when kids retook the exam during a period of taking ADHD drugs to treat their symptoms, they performed significantly better than in previous tests. They were able to factor in the effect of takling the test a few times and found that the ADHD meds boosted scores on top of the effect of having practised the test.
Testing the Test
These results were vigorously investigated using several sensitivity analyses and proved to be consistent. They discovered that individuals scored higher on the SweSAT when they were using ADHD medication.
ADHD medications included stimulants (methylphenidate hydrochloride, amphetamine sulfate, and dextroamphetamine sulfate) and nonstimulants (atomoxetine hydrochloride).
This effect size, while small, might translate to a higher rank among test applicants, potentially enhancing the chances of receiving higher education. These results have profound real-life implications. Studies have shown that educational level is a strong predictor of occupational outcomes in patients with ADHD.
Hidden effects
While this study underwent vigorous statistical analysis, giving it strong scientific validity, there were some limitations.
Given that a lack of adherence to ADHD medication routines is the norm with ADHD patients and not the exception, it is quite possible that many of the patients who were prescribed ADHD medications were not actually taking them as prescribed. This would hide some of the benefits that ADHD meds provided when the kids took college or university admission exams. If this is the case, then the effect size would be even greater than the results in this study suggest.
The study focused on students aiming for higher education, so it is unclear whether the results can be extrapolated to vocational courses.
Due to the ‘within-patient’ study design, this research was also unable to account for individuals who had only taken the test once. This study did not consider the effects of concurrent learning disabilities on test scores.
Life-long advantages for kids whose parents treat their learning disabillity
For those with ADHD, the use of ADHD medication is associated with better performance on higher education entrance tests.
Prescribers should weigh the evidence together with the current list of risks and benefits of ADHD treatment to guide clinical practice. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is common among children and adults alike and can have a negative impact on academic performance.
The hallmark symptoms of ADHD; inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity make learning in a school environment inherently more difficult. Individuals with ADHD earn, on average, lower school grades and receive less education than their peers without ADHD.
By limiting post-secondary possibilities, these effects can have a lifelong adverse influence.
Medical professionals always weigh the potential benefits of a medication with the potential risks when choosing whether a prescription is appropriate. The authors concluded that the effect of ADHD meds on college admissions test scores in those with ADHD was significant enough to be considered along with the other risks and benefits when prescribing ADHD medications.
Written by Lisa Borsellino, B. Sc. Add to Flipboard Magazine.
Lu Y, Sjölander A, Cederlöf M, et al. Association Between Medication Use and Performance on Higher Education Entrance Tests in Individuals With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. JAMA Psychiatry. 2017;74(8):815-822. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.1472
Swedish medical researchers say that kids who take ADHD meds perform better on college or university admissions tests than youngsters whose symptoms are left untreated. Most doctors consider ADHD drugs generally effective at reducing the symptoms of ADHD, but until now, researchers have tended to neglect research into the real-life impact on patients beyond managing symptoms. Scholars at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden aimed to close this gap in our knowledge with a Sweden-wide cohort study. Does treating the symptoms of ADHD benefit the kids beyond their day to day routine? In a 2017 research study published in JAMA Psychiatry, they analyzed the medical records and test scores of 61,640 teens and young adults with a diagnosis of ADHD between 2006 and 2013 to determine if ADHD medication use leads to higher test scores on post-secondary entrance examinations.
The scientists extracted treatment records from the Swedish national registers and compared it to data from the Swedish Aptitude Test. They used a technique called ‘within-patient’ design, comparing the test scores of patients both with ADHD medication and without. The test, in this case, was the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (SweSAT)- the university and college entrance exam. Students routinely take the test multiple times to win a place on a post-secondary course. The results indicated that people with ADHD using meds took the test fewer times than those without ADHD, but at a later age on average (20.6 years vs 22.1 years old). ADHD diagnosed Kids who were medicated earned an average of 10 points higher on the test than test takers with ADHD and no meds. When the scientists compared individual’s own scores between medicated and un-medicated periods, they found a 4.8-point increase when using ADHD medications. So to reiterate, kids using ADHD meds as prescribed, performed better in college admissions exams than their peers. What’s more, when kids retook the exam during a period of taking ADHD drugs to treat their symptoms, they performed significantly better than in previous tests. They were able to factor in the effect of takling the test a few times and found that the ADHD meds boosted scores on top of the effect of having practised the test. These results were vigorously investigated using several sensitivity analyses and proved to be consistent.
They discovered that individuals scored higher on the SweSAT when they were using ADHD medication. ADHD medications included stimulants (methylphenidate hydrochloride, amphetamine sulfate, and dextroamphetamine sulfate) and nonstimulants (atomoxetine hydrochloride). This effect size, while small, might translate to a higher rank among test applicants, potentially enhancing the chances of receiving higher education. These results have profound real-life implications. Studies have shown that educational level is a strong predictor of occupational outcomes in patients with ADHD.
While this study underwent vigorous statistical analysis, giving it strong scientific validity, there were some limitations. Given that a lack of adherence to ADHD medication routines is the norm with ADHD patients and not the exception, it is quite possible that many of the patients who were prescribed ADHD medications were not actually taking them as prescribed. This would hide some of the benefits that ADHD meds provided when the kids took college or university admission exams. If this is the case, then the effect size would be even greater than the results in this study suggest. The study focused on students aiming for higher education, so it is unclear whether the results can be extrapolated to vocational courses. Due to the ‘within-patient’ study design, this research was also unable to account for individuals who had only taken the test once. This study did not consider the effects of concurrent learning disabilities on test scores.
For those with ADHD, the use of ADHD medication is associated with better performance on higher education entrance tests. Prescribers should weigh the evidence together with the current list of risks and benefits of ADHD treatment to guide clinical practice.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is common among children and adults alike and can have a negative impact on academic performance. The hallmark symptoms of ADHD; inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity make learning in a school environment inherently more difficult. Individuals with ADHD earn, on average, lower school grades and receive less education than their peers without ADHD. By limiting post-secondary possibilities, these effects can have a lifelong adverse influence.
Medical professionals always weigh the potential benefits of a medication with the potential risks when choosing whether a prescription is appropriate. The authors concluded that the effect of ADHD meds on college admissions test scores in those with ADHD was significant enough to be considered along with the other risks and benefits when prescribing ADHD medications.
Written by Lisa Borsellino, B. Sc.
Add to Flipboard Magazine.
Lu Y, Sjölander A, Cederlöf M, et al. Association Between Medication Use and Performance on Higher Education Entrance Tests in Individuals With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. JAMA Psychiatry. 2017;74(8):815-822. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.1472
Do ADHD meds help kids in admissions tests?
Revealing Results
Testing the Test
Hidden effects
Life-long advantages for kids whose parents treat their learning disabillity
