The increased rate of stimulant treatment for hyperactive/inattentive students in secondary schools.
OBJECTIVE
To describe trends in medication use for hyperactive/inattentive (HA/I) secondary school students from 1975 through 1993 and to present differences in the treatment of HA/I relative to school grade.


METHODS
A comprehensive survey of the HA/I treatment of public elementary and secondary school students has been conducted biennially by school nurses in Baltimore County, MD since 1975.


RESULTS
Although only 11% of all public school students on medication for HA/I were in secondary schools in 1975, the proportion gradually rose such that in the 1990s, 30% of all medicated students were attending secondary schools. Also in secondary schools, the gender ratio for students on medication for HA/I narrowed from a 1:12 female/male ratio in 1981 to a 1:6 female/male ratio in 1993.


CONCLUSIONS
Many more elementary school students are now remaining on stimulant medication for HA/I into their teens. Compared with a decade ago, relatively more girls are on stimulant treatment for HA/I during their secondary school years.
Safer
D J
DJ
Baltimore County Health Department, MD.
Krager
J M
JM
D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015142:Baltimore; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003625:Data Collection; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012572:School Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D012737:Sex Factors
D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants