A recent meta-analysis examined whether attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or treatments for the disorder alter the risk of diseases associated with the basal ganglia and cerebellum, including Parkinson’s disease. Statewide medical records from 1996 to 2016 were retrieved from the Utah Population Database. Participants included patients with ADHD with no prior diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, secondary parkinsonism, basal ganglia disease, or essential tremor, and no history of substance abuse. Patients with ADHD had a 2.4-fold increased risk of basal ganglia and cerebellum (BG&C) diseases (95% confidence interval (CI):2.0-3.0; p<0.0001) compared with 158,790 healthy controls, after controlling for age, sex, tobacco use and psychotic conditions. Medications prescribed to treat patients with ADHD were available for 4,960 ADHD patients. Patients with ADHD who were treated only with methylphenidate had an 8-fold risk of BG&C diseases (95% CI: 4.2-5.1;p<0.0001), significantly greater than the risk observed generally in patients with ADHD, and the risk observed in patients without known stimulant information. The risk of BG&C diseases in patients with ADHD prescribed stimulants appeared to be especially prevalent in age 21-49 year-olds, compared to healthy controls in this younger population. Results suggest that the association between patients treated with stimulants and a higher risk of BG&C diseases may be attributed to severity of the ADHD phenotype, and not a direct association between prescribed stimulant use. Future research is warranted, in order to assess and stratify patient risk.
Reference:
Curtin et al. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2018; 0:1-8. Abstract
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