Drugs used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not increase the risk of suicide attempts or suicide, and may actually provide a protective effect, a new study suggests, and reported by WebMD.
Prior research had hinted that ADHD drugs might raise the risk of suicidal behavior, according to the authors of the new report. However, they believe that the findings of those studies were questionable due to their studies' small size or the methods used.
The new study, led by Henrik Larsson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, included all of the nearly 38,000 people in Sweden diagnosed with ADHD between 1960 and 1996, reports WebMD.
Larsson's team tracked their rates of suicidal behaviors between 2006 through 2009, at times when they were taking ADHD drugs or not taking the medications.
The result: The study found no evidence that taking ADHD drugs raised the risk of suicide attempts or suicide, the investigators reported online June 18 in the BMJ.
"Our work in several ways shows that most likely there is no link between treatment with ADHD drugs and an increased risk of suicide attempts or suicide. The results rather indicate that ADHD drugs may have a protective effect," Larsson said in an institute news release.
