Authors:

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Sara Carucci, Carla Balia, Antonella Gagliano, Angelico Lampis, Jan K Buitelaar, Marina Danckaerts, Ralf W Dittmann, Peter Garas, Chris Hollis, Sarah Inglis, Kerstin Konrad, Hanna Kovshoff, Elizabeth B Liddle, Suzanne McCarthy, Peter Nagy, Pietro Panei, Roberta Romaniello, Tatiana Usala, Ian C K Wong, Tobias Banaschewski, Edmund Sonuga-Barke, David Coghill, Alessandro Zuddas, ADDUCE Consortium

Key summary:

It has been suggested that the long-term use of ADHD medication methylphenidate may have small restrictions in obtaining expected height and weight. However, the restrictions are considered minor with possible minimal clinical impact. Due to methodological differences among studies and the unknown mechanism of how methylphenidate may affect growth, firm conclusions can yet be drawn. Nevertheless, clinicians should prescribe methylphenidate at minimum effective doses and monitor patients’ pre- and post- growth parameters periodically.  Should patients experience significant changes in growth after medication, planned drug holidays should be discussed with clinicians.