ADHD treatments show short-term symptom benefits, with longer-term uncertainty
Several ADHD interventions improved short-term symptom ratings, but treatment tolerability and uncertain longer-term effects also shaped this review's findings.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Several medicines improved short-term ADHD symptom ratings among children and adolescents, with moderate or high confidence in the evidence. Adult findings also supported some medicines and cognitive behavioural therapy. Benefits varied by intervention and evidence quality. No intervention had longer-term findings rated high certainty, leaving lasting effects uncertain.
This abstract-based account cannot show whether symptom improvements translate into better daily functioning. Weak evidence for some non-drug approaches and the absence of high-certainty longer-term findings limit conclusions about lasting benefits.
What researchers found
ADHD symptom severity in children and adolescents
Methylphenidate versus passive controls at 12 weeks or study endpoint; evidence certainty was moderate or high.
Side effects and withdrawals
Adults receiving methylphenidate, amphetamines, or atomoxetine had poorer tolerability than those receiving placebo. Tolerability meant withdrawal because of side effects. In younger participants, tolerability differences for methylphenidate and atomoxetine did not reach statistical significance. That does not rule out harm.
Symptoms are one outcome
Some non-drug approaches produced large symptom effects, but confidence in those findings was low. The review also considered daily functioning and quality of life; this abstract does not report their results.
The original publication
Benefits and harms of ADHD interventions: umbrella review and platform for shared decision making.
Gosling CJ, Garcia-Argibay M, De Prisco M et al.
BMJ · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41297970
- Record checked
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