Psychostimulant Medications Improve Static Balance In Adults With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) exhibit greater sway areas during bipedal standing tasks than healthy adults, which may indicate poor static balance. Using psychostimulant medication improves balance in children with ADHD. However, it is unknown if psychostimulants improve balance in adults with ADHD. PURPOSE: To examine the effects of psychostimulant medications on static balance in adults with ADHD. METHODS: We performed a prospective within-subject repeated measures study. We included adults aged 21 to 55 years and diagnosed with ADHD. We randomly assigned participants to complete an on-medication and off-medication testing sessions, with a minimum of 7 days between the two sessions. During the off-medication session, participants did not consume their ADHD medication 24 hours before the session whereas on the day they were on medication they took their ADHD medication as prescribed by their physician. On both days, participants stood for 30-seconds on a force platform for each of the following 4 conditions: feet apart with 1) eyes open and 2) eyes closed; feet together with 3) eyes open and 4) eyes closed. We calculated average sway area (cm2) for each test condition. Participants practice all of the tests prior to testing. We used a 2 (medication condition) X 2 (feet position) X 2 (eyes open or close) repeated-measure multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) to main effect of medication on average sway areas and the interaction effects between the testing conditions. RESULTS: 37 adults participated (29 females; mean age=28.6 ± 6.3). Average sway area scores were significantly greater (4.81±2.8 cm2 vs. 3.66±1.7 cm2) when off versus on medication. The repeated-measure MANOVA denoted a significant main effect of medication on sway area [F(1,36)= 11.41; p=.002; η2= .24]. Additionally, there was a significant medication X foot positioning interaction effect [F(1,36)= 6.63; p=.014; η2= .16]. CONCLUSION: Psychostimulant medications significantly improved static balance performance in adults with ADHD. Specifically, using psychostimulant ADHD medication improves static balance when narrowing the base of support. Future studies should examine if psychostimulant medication improve balance in adults with ADHD with stronger interventional designs.