What the studies show about ADHD medication

Some of the largest studies in psychiatry have followed hundreds of thousands of ADHD patients through national health records. They consistently find that people are safer, on average, during the periods when they take their medication.

−21%lower risk of death from any cause within two years of starting ADHD medication (Sweden, JAMA 2024)

−38%fewer serious car crashes for men during medicated periods, and −42% for women (JAMA Psychiatry 2017)

−32%fewer criminal convictions for men while medicated, and −41% for women (NEJM 2012)

−35%fewer substance-related emergency visits for men while medicated, and −31% for women (Am. J. Psychiatry 2017)

The studies

Lower death rates

Li, L., et al. “ADHD Pharmacotherapy and Mortality in Individuals With ADHD.” JAMA, 2024. This Swedish national study of more than 148,000 people found that starting ADHD medication was linked to lower all-cause death within two years (hazard ratio 0.79), driven mainly by fewer deaths from accidents, injuries and poisonings.

Fewer car crashes

Chang, Z., et al. “Association Between Medication Use for ADHD and Risk of Motor Vehicle Crashes.” JAMA Psychiatry, 2017. Based on U.S. insurance claims for 2.3 million ADHD patients, this study found 38% fewer emergency visits for crashes among men during medicated months, and 42% fewer among women.

Less crime

Lichtenstein, P., et al. “Medication for Attention Deficit–Hyperactivity Disorder and Criminality.” New England Journal of Medicine, 2012. Among 25,656 Swedish patients, criminal convictions fell 32% for men and 41% for women during periods on medication.

Less substance abuse

Quinn, P.D., et al. “ADHD Medication and Substance-Related Problems.” American Journal of Psychiatry, 2017. Among nearly 3 million U.S. patients, emergency visits related to substance use were 35% lower for men and 31% lower for women during medicated periods.

Why this matters: when a shortage cuts people off from their medicine, the risks these studies measured come back. Congress members warned in 2023 that the Adderall shortage “may lead them to use potentially lethal non-prescribed drugs” (Sen. Ron Wyden). More on the shortage: ryanbrandstrom.com/adderall-shortage.

These are observational studies. They compare the same people on and off medication, which controls for many differences between people, but they cannot prove cause and effect. They describe prescribed treatment, not misuse.