A Swedish population study of 247,420 individuals found that ADHD medications consistently reduced risks of self-harm, unintentional injury, traffic crashes, and crime across all age groups and sexes.
The protective effects of ADHD medications weakened over time as prescription rates increased from 0.6% to 2.8% between 2006 and 2020, particularly for unintentional injury, traffic crashes, and crime.
Changes in patient demographics did not fully explain the diminishing benefits, highlighting the need for ongoing evaluation of medication use and patient selection as prescribing expands.
The findings suggest that while ADHD medications remain beneficial, the real-world outcomes may be affected by shifts in the patient population receiving treatment.