Use of ADHD Drugs Tripled During Ten-Year Period

The use of medicine to treat Attention Deficit Disorder tripled between 1993 and 2003. The United States accounted for 83% of the increase. However, researchers noted that France, Sweden, Korea and Japan showed increases in ADHD drug use among children ages five to nineteen years, and Canada and Australia had heavier use than predicted. Overall, there was a 900% increase in spending on ADHD drugs such as Ritalin.

Richard Scheffler, who led the study, said that ADHD could become the world's leading childhood disorder treatable by drugs.

One in 25 American children now takes such medications.