CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 132Attention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderPharmaceutical studies and practicesPharmacology and Obesity Treatment

Slowing of growth in height and weight on stimulants: A characteristic pattern

Poulton, A, Cowell, CT·2003·Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health
DOI 10.1046/j.1440-1754.2003.00107.x
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Objective: The aims of the present study were to describe the growth pattern of children starting stimulant medication and to analyse the changes over time in height, weight and height velocity in a cohort of treated patients. Methods: Retrospective review of growth data from files of all newly treated patients with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder in one paediatric practice. Forty‐four boys and seven girls were treated for 6−42 months with either dexam­phetamine (n = 32) or methylphenidate (n = 19). Results: During the first 6 months on stimulant medication 44 children (86%) had a height velocity below the age‐corrected mean and there was weight loss in 39 (76%). The height and weight standard deviation score (SDS) showed a progressive decline that was statistically significant after 6 and 18 months (P < 0.001, paired t‐test). The height velocity was significantly attenuated for the first 30 months (P < 0.01), being lowest during the first 6 months. The mean height deficit during the first 2 years was approximately 1 cm/year. The change in weight SDS was 2.4 times the change in height SDS after 30 months on treatment with a significant correlation (Pearson's correlation coefficient r = 0.88, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Stimulant medication is associated with a decrease in height and weight SDS during the first 6−30 months with a characteristic pattern on the growth chart.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1046/j.1440-1754.2003.00107.x

Cites

25 of 25 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Current data indicate that the initial effect of stimulants on growth appears to attenuate over time, and early studies of adult outcomes of children treated with stimulant medications have suggested that final adult height is not affected.

    “Current data indicate that the initial effect of stimulants on growth appears to attenuate over time [39, 114, 139] and early studies of the adult outcomes of children treated with stimulant medications have suggested that final adult height is not affected [55, 71].”

    From European guidelines on managing adverse effects of medication for ADHD (2011) · cites this paper as [114]

  • Two recent chart-review studies (Lisska and Rivkees, 2003; Poulton and Cowell, 2003) showed reductions in growth rates for up to 3 years without evidence of growth rebound.

    “Two recent chart-review studies of children treated with stimulant medication in clinical practices in the United States (Lisska and Rivkees, 2003) and Australia (Poulton and Cowell, 2003) have shown reductions in growth rates for up to 3 years without evidence of growth rebound.”

    From Effects of Stimulant Medication on Growth Rates Across 3 Years in the MTA Follow-up (2007) · cites this paper as Poulton and Cowell, 2003

  • The finding of a reduction in growth rate in height that extends up to 3 years is consistent with two recent retrospective reviews of clinical charts (Lisska and Rivkees, 2003; Poulton and Cowell, 2003).

    “The finding of a reduction in growth rate in height that extends up to 3 years is consistent with two recent retrospective reviews of clinical charts (Lisska and Rivkees, 2003;Poulton and Cowell, 2003)”

    From Effects of Stimulant Medication on Growth Rates Across 3 Years in the MTA Follow-up (2007) · cites this paper as Poulton and Cowell, 2003

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Poulton, A., & Cowell, C.
Affiliations
  • Nepean Hospital (AU)
  • Children's Hospital at Westmead (AU)
Corresponding author
Poulton, A
ORCID
Poulton, A
Venue
Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2003-03-28
Volume
39
Issue
3
Pages
180-185
ISSN
  • 1034-4810 (ISSN-L)
  • 1440-1754
DOI
10.1046/j.1440-1754.2003.00107.x
OpenAlex
W2165350357
Cited by
132
References
25
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 7
FWCI
5.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Pharmaceutical studies and practices
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Pharmacology and Obesity Treatment
Keywords
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, stimulant medication, d-amphetamine, methylphenidate, growth retardation, height velocity, weight loss, height deficit, children
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Central Nervous System Stimulants, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Body Height, Body Weight, Child, Child Development, Child, Preschool, Dextroamphetamine, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Drug Administration Schedule, Female, Growth Disorders, Humans, Male, Methylphenidate, New South Wales, Probability, Prognosis, Retrospective Studies, Cohort Studies, Incidence, Age Distribution, Sex Distribution, Risk Assessment

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review