More adults sought help for ADHD during pandemic, contributing to drug shortages

abcnews.go.com:

Prescriptions for ADHD treatments surged among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to fuel lingering shortages that are frustrating parents and doctors

Prescriptions for ADHD treatments surged among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to fuel lingering shortages that frustrate parents and doctors.

New prescriptions for stimulants used to treat the condition jumped for young adults and women during a two-year window after the pandemic hit in March 2020, according to a study published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry.

Prescriptions also soared for nonstimulant treatments for adults of all ages, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration researchers found.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is one of the most common developmental disorders in children, particularly boys. The use of drugs like Adderall to treat it climbed in general during the pandemic.

Telemedicine made it easier to get help, and regulators started allowing doctors to prescribe the drug without first seeing a patient in person.

But Dr. Ann Childress says more adults also started coming to her for help after COVID-19 hit. The Las Vegas psychiatrist sees several reasons behind the shift.

Working from home made some people realize how easily they get distracted. Childress says she diagnosed a lot of parents, especially moms, who saw it in their children and realized they may have it as well.

Plus, social media made people more aware of adult ADHD.

“People are more open to talking about mental health issues now,” said Childress, who was not involved in the study.

Rising use of ADHD treatments compounded with manufacturing problems triggered an Adderall shortage that started more than a year ago. Doctors and patients say supply problems for