Prevalence of ADHD diagnosis and nonmedical prescription stimulant use in medical students.
OBJECTIVE
The authors aimed to determine the prevalence of ADHD diagnosis and the prevalence of nonmedical prescription stimulant use among a sample of medical students.


METHODS
An anonymous survey was administered to 388 medical students (84.0% return rate) across all 4 years of education at a public medical college.


RESULTS
Eighteen medical students (5.5%) reported being diagnosed with ADHD and 72.2% of those students were diagnosed after the age of 18. Thirty-three medical students (10.1%) reported using prescription stimulants for nonmedical purposes during their lifetime. The most commonly reported motivation for nonmedical prescription stimulant use was to improve academic performance. There was no significant correlation between an ADHD diagnosis and a history of nonmedical prescription stimulant use (p=0.072).


CONCLUSIONS
This survey suggests that medical students appear to be a relatively high-risk population for nonmedical prescription stimulant use.
Tuttle
Jeffrey P
JP
Department of Psychiatry, University of Kentucky, 3470 Blazer Parkway, Lexington, KY 40509, USA. jptutt0@email.uky.edu
Scheurich
Neil E
NE
Ranseen
John
J
D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants