Children and teenagers diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder who are treated with methylphenidate have an elevated risk of major depressive disorder, researchers found in a study published in Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience.
The study used data from South Korea's Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database to examine ADHD medication prescription, depression diagnosis, and antidepressant prescription between January 2007 and December 2016, which found 2,330 individuals eligible for the study.
Investigators found that there was an elevated rate of depression during methylphenidate treatment in children ages 6-19. After methylphenidate treatment was discontinued, the elevated rate returned to baseline level.
"Our findings suggest that use of methylphenidate medication in young people with ADHD is temporally associated with the emergence of depression," the study authors wrote. "With the increased global use of ADHD drugs, the benefits of methylphenidate should be carefully evaluated against the potential risk of depression in children and adolescents."