Abstract
Stimulant medication is a well-researched treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and is among the most effective treatments in psychiatry. Parents often want to know more about the long-term risks and benefits of medication. Our objective was to review the seminal papers on long-term outcomes of stimulant treatment for ADHD for the purpose of providing clinicians with the background they need to interpret these findings for patients. We reviewed key articles on long-term outcome of symptoms, comorbidity, substance use, executive functioning, academics, side effects, neurobiology, functioning, and quality of life. Stimulants are very effective medications in the short term when used optimally. Long-term randomized, placebo-controlled studies are not feasible. Long-term naturalistic studies are limited by absence of controls. When administered properly with careful titration, follow-up, and dose adjustment, stimulants are a safe and effective treatment for ADHD with minimal long-term risk and possible long-term benefit.
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