Attention Deficit Disorder | A constant increase in medication among young people for 20 years

In Quebec, nearly 8% of children and young adults are medicated to treat attention deficit disorder. This is nearly double the Canadian average. And the prescription of psychostimulants among those under 25 has been steadily rising for 20 years, reveals a new report from the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec.

Lea Carrier
The Press

Specifically, drug prescriptions to treat attention disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD) jumped 1.9% to 7.7% between 2000 and 2020, according to the report released Friday.

The data were taken from the Integrated Disease Surveillance System of Quebec, and relate to young people under the age of 25 registered with the public drug insurance plan.

“It doesn’t really surprise me,” says the D^r Benoît Hammarrenger, neuropsychologist and author of a book on ADHD.

“The increase in prescriptions comes with a marked increase in our knowledge of ADHD,” explains the director of the Cognitive Assessment and Rehabilitation Clinic (CERC).

In the early 2000s, the number of prescriptions was lower than it should have been, he says. “We had kids with unmedicated ADHD at that time,” he says.

Twenty years later, it’s the opposite. Children who should not be treated are still being prescribed psychostimulants, notes Dr.^r Hammarrenger.

Quebec also stands out from the rest of the country.

In comparison, 4% of young people under the age of 25 were medicated to treat ADHD in Canada in 2017-2018, according to a study by the National Institute for Excellence in Health and Social Services.

“My personal impression is that in Quebec, there may have been an overmediatization around ADHD […], [de sorte] that we see ADHD almost everywhere”, explains the neuropsychologist. And several symptoms can resemble those of an attention disorder, without however being one.

Note also that the study does not specify the proportion of children and young adults who have been diagnosed with ADHD, “which is probably higher” than 7.7%, argues the D^r Hammarrenger.

Regional disparities

More boys take psychostimulants – by far the most frequently prescribed type of medication to treat ADHD – than girls, at 9.6% compared to 5.8% in 2019-2020.

The prescription rate also varies considerably by region. In eastern Quebec, up to 14% of young people have received a prescription, compared to only 3% in Montreal.

Disparities that may reflect a lack of professional resources outside major centers, says the D^r Benoit Hammarrenger.

Dominique Simard, director of the Association PANDA Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, which helps people with ADHD, agrees.

“In the regions, it is the general practitioner who will prescribe with observation grids, while in the metropolitan area, we have access to more professionals who are able to make more in-depth diagnoses,” says Ms.^me Simard, who considers the constant increase in the use of psychostimulants “worrying”.

“Medication is not the only solution. Sometimes you need a little push, but it’s not a magic pill. You have to adopt other strategies,” for example controlling emotions, a better lifestyle or even positive communication, she says.