Skip to main content

Advertising Disclaimer »

Main menu

  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
    • Supplements
    • Publish Supplement
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers
  • Other Publications
    • American Academy of Pediatrics

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
American Academy of Pediatrics

AAP Gateway

Advanced Search

AAP Logo

  • Log in
  • My Cart
  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
    • Supplements
    • Publish Supplement
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers

Discover Pediatric Collections on COVID-19 and Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health

American Academy of Pediatrics
Article

ADHD, Stimulant Treatment, and Growth: A Longitudinal Study

Elizabeth B. Harstad, Amy L. Weaver, Slavica K. Katusic, Robert C. Colligan, Seema Kumar, Eugenia Chan, Robert G. Voigt and William J. Barbaresi
Pediatrics September 2014, peds.2014-0428; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2014-0428
Elizabeth B. Harstad
aDivision of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Amy L. Weaver
Departments of bHealth Sciences Research,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Slavica K. Katusic
Departments of bHealth Sciences Research,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Robert C. Colligan
cPsychiatry and Psychology, and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Seema Kumar
dPediatrics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Eugenia Chan
aDivision of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Robert G. Voigt
eDepartment of Pediatrics, Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
William J. Barbaresi
aDivision of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments
Loading
Download PDF

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: There is ongoing concern that stimulant medications may adversely affect growth. In a sample of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) cases and controls from a population-based birth cohort, we assessed growth and the association between stimulant treatment and growth.

METHODS: Subjects included childhood ADHD cases (N = 340) and controls (N = 680) from a 1976 to 1982 birth cohort (N = 5718). Height and stimulant treatment information were abstracted from medical records and obtained during a prospective, adult follow-up study. For each subject, a parametric penalized spline smoothing method modeled height over time, and the corresponding height velocity was calculated as the first derivative. Peak height velocity (PHV) age and magnitude were estimated from the velocity curves. Among stimulant-treated ADHD cases, we analyzed height Z scores at the beginning, at the end, and 24 months after the end of treatment.

RESULTS: Neither ADHD itself nor treatment with stimulants was associated with differences in magnitude of PHV or final adult height. Among boys treated with stimulants, there was a positive correlation between duration of stimulant usage before PHV and age at PHV (r = 0.21, P = .01). There was no significant correlation between duration of treatment and change in height Z scores (r = −0.08 for beginning vs end change, r = 0.01 for end vs 24 months later change). Among the 59 ADHD cases treated for ≥3 years, there was a clinically insignificant decrease in mean Z score from beginning (0.48) to end (0.33) of treatment (P = .06).

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that ADHD treatment with stimulant medication is not associated with differences in adult height or significant changes in growth.

  • attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
  • stimulant medications
  • adult outcomes
  • height
  • growth
  • Accepted July 24, 2014.
  • Copyright © 2014 by the American Academy of Pediatrics
Next
Back to top

Advertising Disclaimer »

In this issue

Pediatrics
Vol. 147, Issue 4
1 Apr 2021
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
Next
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Academy of Pediatrics.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
ADHD, Stimulant Treatment, and Growth: A Longitudinal Study
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Academy of Pediatrics
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Academy of Pediatrics web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Request Permissions
Article Alerts
Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.
Or Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation Tools
ADHD, Stimulant Treatment, and Growth: A Longitudinal Study
Elizabeth B. Harstad, Amy L. Weaver, Slavica K. Katusic, Robert C. Colligan, Seema Kumar, Eugenia Chan, Robert G. Voigt, William J. Barbaresi
Pediatrics Sep 2014, peds.2014-0428; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2014-0428

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
ADHD, Stimulant Treatment, and Growth: A Longitudinal Study
Elizabeth B. Harstad, Amy L. Weaver, Slavica K. Katusic, Robert C. Colligan, Seema Kumar, Eugenia Chan, Robert G. Voigt, William J. Barbaresi
Pediatrics Sep 2014, peds.2014-0428; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2014-0428
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Download PDF
Insight Alerts

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Clinical Impact of a Diagnostic Gastrointestinal Panel in Children
  • Intrapartum Group B Streptococcal Prophylaxis and Childhood Allergic Disorders
  • Changes in Neurodevelopmental Outcomes From Age 2 to 10 Years for Children Born Extremely Preterm
Show more Article

Similar Articles

Subjects

  • Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics
    • Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics
    • Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Keywords

  • attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
  • stimulant medications
  • adult outcomes
  • height
  • growth
  • Journal Info
  • Editorial Board
  • Editorial Policies
  • Overview
  • Licensing Information
  • Authors/Reviewers
  • Author Guidelines
  • Submit My Manuscript
  • Open Access
  • Reviewer Guidelines
  • Librarians
  • Institutional Subscriptions
  • Usage Stats
  • Support
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Resources
  • Media Kit
  • About
  • International Access
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • FAQ
  • AAP.org
  • shopAAP
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Instagram
  • Visit American Academy of Pediatrics on Facebook
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Twitter
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Youtube
  • RSS
American Academy of Pediatrics

© 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics