In an 18-year-study on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), Mayo Clinic researchers found that treatment with prescription stimulants is associated with improved long-term academic success of children with AD/HD. The Mayo Clinic results are the first population-based data to show stimulant drug therapy helps improve long-term school outcomes.

A related Mayo Clinic study reveals that compared to children without AD/HD, children with AD/HD are at risk for poor long-term school outcomes such as low achievement in reading, absenteeism, repeating a grade, and dropping out of school. Both studies appear in the current edition of the Journal of Development & Behavioral Pediatrics, (http://www.jrnldbp.com).

Nearly 2 million children, or approximately 3 percent to 5 percent of young children in the United States, have AD/HD. This disorder affects a child's ability to focus, concentrate and control impulsive behavior (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm). This disorder is so common that most school classrooms have at least one child with clinically-diagnosed AD/HD.

"In this study, treatment with stimulant medication during childhood was associated with more favorable long-term school outcomes," explains William Barbaresi, M.D., Mayo Clinic pediatrician and lead author of the reports.

Significance of the Mayo Clinic Studies

The two Mayo Clinic studies are the first population-based, long-term studies to investigate links between AD/HD, school performance and factors that modify long-term school performance of children…