Prevalence of pharmacotherapy for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and prescription stimulant misuse: A national study of US college students.

Background and aims: Increasing rates of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) pharmacotherapy may simultaneously benefit patients and increase the availability of stimulants for misuse. We measured the association between university-level prevalence of ADHD medication treatment and prevalence of prescription stimulant misuse (PSM) among college students.

Design, setting and participants: This was an observational study using cross-sectional data from the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment III. Data included 395 participating universities between Fall 2019 and Fall 2022. Our sample included 224 469 undergraduates aged 18-25 years (65.2% cisgender female; 58.7% White).

Measurements: Students self-reported any life-time clinical ADHD diagnosis, past-year ADHD medication treatment and past-3-month PSM. We defined university-level ADHD medication prevalence as the proportion of included students endorsing past-year ADHD medication treatment. Secondary outcomes included life-time PSM and moderate- to high-risk alcohol and cannabis use. We also measured university-level depression medication prevalence as a negative control exposure.

Findings: Among the included students, 9.6% reported a life-time clinical ADHD diagnosis, 5.1% reported past-year medication treatment and 2.4% reported past-3-month PSM. The prevalence of ADHD medication treatment varied among universities [mean = 5.3%, standard deviation (SD) = 2.8%]. In adjusted models, prevalence of PSM was 7% relatively greater for every 1% increase in university-level medication prevalence [adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) = 1.07; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.04-1.09]. Further, individuals with non-medication-treated ADHD were 40% more likely to report PSM than those without ADHD (aPR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.25-1.56). There was no statistically significant difference in PSM among individuals with ADHD who did or did not receive medication (aPR = 0.90; 95% CI = 0.78-1.04). Results for secondary outcomes and the negative control partially supported the specificity of the findings.

Conclusions: Among university students in the United States, there appears to be a positive association between attending universities with a greater prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication treatment and risk of prescription stimulant misuse (PSM). This study provides further support for the possibility that ADHD medication treatment prevalence is a risk factor for PSM.