Decreased Risk of Influenza in Child and Adolescent Patients with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Following Methylphenidate Treatment: A Nationwide Cohort Study in Taiwan.

Abstract

BackgroundYoung individuals with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have an elevated risk of influenza because of the difficulty in complying with the behavioral procedures that help protect against influenza. Moreover, the effects of sufficient methylphenidate treatment on influenza have received little attention.ObjectiveThis study evaluated the association between ADHD medication usage and influenza and assessed the effect of duration of ADHD treatment on the risk of influenza using a nationwide population-based database.MethodsThis study investigated methylphenidate usage and the risk of influenza among children and adolescents with ADHD. We identified 5259 young individuals aged less than 18 years who were diagnosed as having ADHD between 1996 and 2013 from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan, and we tested whether methylphenidate use affects influenza risk using Cox proportional hazard models.ResultsAfter controlling for confounding factors, the results indicated that influenza risk significantly reduced in the group of ADHD patients who were prescribed methylphenidate for 90 days and more (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.62, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.52–0.75, p<0.001), demonstrating a 38% reduction in the risk of influenza in this group. However, this was not observed in the group of ADHD patients who used methylphenidate for 1–90 days (HR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.89–1.05, p=0.12).ConclusionThe lower incidence of influenza observed in the group prescribed with methylphenidate for a longer period highlights the importance of compliance to medication and psychoeducation with regard to ADHD management.