ADHD Medication Usage and Trends in 2022: Increase in User Numbers and Cost

The most commonly used drugs for the treatment of ADHD are methylphenidate, dexamphetamine and lisdexamfetamine

The total number of users of ADHD medication increased by 8.0% in 2022. The largest increase was visible among lisdexamfetamine users. The number of users of this drug increased by 23% among children, and by 36% among adults. The SFK writes this this week in the Pharmaceutisch Weekblad.

When ADHD is diagnosed in children or adults, drug treatments can be chosen in addition to psychological treatment methods. The most commonly used drugs to treat ADHD are methylphenidate, dexamphetamine, and lisdexamfetamine. The total number of users of all ADHD medications has increased from 261,000 in 2021 to 282,000 in 2022, an increase of 8.0%. The largest increase in user numbers of ADHD medication can be seen with lisdexamfetamine.

In the age group 6 to 17 years (children), the number of users of this drug increased by 23% from 7,100 in 2021 to 8,700 in 2022. In the age group 18 to 49 years (adults), the increase was 36%, from 11,000 to 15,000 users.
For dexamphetamine and methylphenidate, the number of users among children has remained virtually stable in 2022 compared to 2021, but there has been a significant increase among adult users. The number of adults taking dexamphetamine increased from 32,000 to 36,000 (+13%) and with methylphenidate from 111,000 to 123,000 (+11%).

If the number of users of ADHD medication is corrected for the population per age group, it can be seen that the number of young methylphenidate users in 2022 (40 per 1000 inhabitants) will be considerably higher than the number of adult users (18 per 1000 inhabitants). However, even after correction per 1000 inhabitants, it can be seen that the number of young users of methylphenidate and dexamphetamine remains stable, but is increasing among adults, and that the number of users of lis dexamphetamine is increasing in both age groups.

Cost
The total costs of ADHD medication increased by 14.7% in 2022 from €68 million to €78 million. This increase is higher than the user numbers, because the costs per user of (lis)dexamphetamine in 2022 were approximately 4 times higher than for methylphenidate.

Bron: SFK

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2023-10-27 09:00:23
#Adults #ADHD #medication