Effect of stimulants on final adult height
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: The use of stimulant medications for treatment of ADHD has raised concern as to whether they adversely impact linear growth. Previous studies have indicated that stimulant medications may suppress growth for a short period after treatment initiation; however, more information is needed to evaluate the long-term effects on final adult stature. This mini review aims to evaluate the effect of stimulant medications on final adult height in children with ADHD. CONTENTS: We performed a literature review across PubMed/MEDLINE database. Only articles that included data on final adult height or near final adult height (age≥16 or 17 years) were included. SUMMARY: Early studies investigating the long-term impacts of stimulant medications observed growth suppression during the active treatment period, but when comparing final adult height, there was no difference between the control and ADHD groups. A recent larger comprehensive study (Multimodal Treatment of ADHD study) has suggested that the long-term use of significant doses of stimulants during childhood may compromise final adult height to a clinically significant degree when comparing adult height across three long-term patterns of stimulant treatment (Consistent, Intermittent, Negligible). The consistent use subgroup was significantly shorter than other subgroups. OUTLOOK: For children with ADHD, a significant long-term dose of stimulant treatment should be used with caution to avoid diminishing adult height potential. Pediatric endocrinologists should consider chronic use of stimulants as a factor contributing to reduced adult height.
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Concerns regarding misuse and diversion of stimulants remain relevant, particularly among young adults and university populations.
“Concerns regarding misuse and diversion remain relevant, particularly among young adults and university populations [150].”
From ADHD in Adulthood: Clinical Presentation, Comorbidities, and Treatment Perspectives (2025) · cites this paper as [150]
The Introduction discusses prescribed stimulants in children and concerns about cardiovascular effects and growth suppression; the Abstract also focuses on growth and adult height. Searches for misuse, diversion, and nonmedical use among young adults or university populations found no passage addressing the cited claim. No page numbers were available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)
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ADHD in Adulthood: Clinical Presentation, Comorbidities, and Treatment Perspectives
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- Authors
- Wojnowski, N. M., Zhou, E., & Jee, Y. H.
- Affiliations
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Jee, Youn Hee
- Venue
- Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism
- Publisher
- Walter de Gruyter GmbH
- Published
- 2022-10-05
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1337-1344
- ISSN
- 0334-018X (ISSN-L)
- 2191-0251
- PMC
- PMC9627528
- OpenAlex
- W4301390984
- Cited by
- 6
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 0.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Growth Hormone and Insulin-like Growth Factors
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Pharmaceutical studies and practices
- Keywords
- stimulant medication, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, adult height, linear growth, growth inhibition, pediatric endocrinology
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Central Nervous System Stimulants, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Body Height, Child, Combined Modality Therapy, Humans, Databases, Factual
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