The longitudinal influence of ADHD status and stimulant medication on body mass index and blood pressure among youth with obesity

• Published in: Pediatric obesity Vol. 18; no. 9; pp. e13058 - n/a
• Main Authors: Kollin, Sophie R., Lim, Crystal S., Lee, Aaron A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-09-2023; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - drug therapy; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - epidemiology; attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder; Blood Pressure; Body Mass Index; Child; Childrens health; Humans; Obesity; Obesity - drug therapy; Obesity - epidemiology; Overweight; Pediatrics; stimulant medication; Weight control; attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; stimulant medication; body mass index; obesity
• ISSN: 2047-6302; 2047-6310
• DOI: 10.1111/ijpo.13058

Summary
Background
Youth with attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more vulnerable to developing obesity. Stimulant medication use, an evidence‐based treatment for ADHD, is associated with lower body mass index (BMI) and higher blood pressure among non‐overweight youth.
Objectives
The purpose of this study was to examine the longitudinal influence of ADHD and stimulant medication use on BMI and blood pressure among a sample of 456 youth with overweight and obesity treated in a paediatric weight management clinic.
Methods
Mixed linear modelling examined the main and interactive effects of time by ADHD status and stimulant medication use on BMI and blood pressure.
Results
Youth without ADHD experienced a significantly faster decrease in BMI compared to youth with ADHD (p < 0.001). Youth with ADHD who were taking stimulant medication had a significantly faster decrease in BMI compared to youth with ADHD who were not taking stimulant medication (p = 0.009). There was no significant effect of ADHD status or stimulant medication use on diastolic or systolic blood pressure trajectories over time (ps >0.05).
Conclusions
Results from this study suggest that youth with ADHD who are not taking stimulant medication may not benefit from clinical weight management to the same extent as either youth without ADHD or youth with ADHD who are taking a stimulant medication.