Gimbach S, Vogel D, Fried R, Faraone SV, Banaschewski T, Buitelaar J, Döpfner M, Ammer R. ADHD medicine consumption in Europe after COVID-19: catch-up or trend change?
BMC Psychiatry 2024;
24:112. [PMID:
38336744 PMCID:
PMC10854136 DOI:
10.1186/s12888-024-05505-9]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Although the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications have been associated with mental health services utilization and medication consumption, there is no longitudinal study on the long-term impact on ADHD medication use trends.
METHODS
This study examines the European ADHD medication consumption in 2020 to 2022 compared to the predicted consumption assuming the persistence of pre-pandemic trends. Predictions are calculated using Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) models.
RESULTS
While European ADHD medication sales recorded a drop in 2020, they returned to the predicted level in 2021, even slightly exceeding it. In 2022, we found a clear exceedance of the predicted level by 16.4% on average at country level. Furthermore, the increase in consumption growth in the post-pandemic period (2021-2022) compared to the pre-pandemic period (2014-2019) was significant in 26 of the 28 European countries under consideration.
CONCLUSION
There is strong evidence of a trend change in the ADHD medicine consumption growth throughout Europe after the COVID-19 pandemic.
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