title: Reading outcomes of children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia following atomoxetine treatment.
abstract: Abstract Objective: This study assessed the efficacy of atomoxetine on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children and adolescents having ADHD with comorbid dyslexia (ADHD+D) and the effects of the treatment on reading measures.
  
  
  METHODS
  The analyses in this report used data from a study designed to examine the effects of a nonstimulant pharmacological agent, atomoxetine, on reading in children with ADHD+D. Patients ages 10-16 years with ADHD or ADHD+D received open-label atomoxetine for 16 weeks. The ADHD Rating Scale (ADHD-RS) and reading subtests of the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (K-TEA) were assessed. Changes in ADHD symptoms and reading scores were also analyzed by ADHD subtype. Treatment effect sizes and correlations between changes in ADHDRS and K-TEA scores were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After atomoxetine treatment, both ADHD and ADHD+D patient groups showed significant reduction in ADHD symptom and improvements in K-TEA reading scores. The range of treatment effect sizes on K-TEA scores was 0.35-0.53 for the ADHD group and 0.50-0.62 for the ADHD+D group. Pearson's correlation coefficients revealed only a few weak correlations between changes in ADHD symptoms and reading scores, regardless of diagnostic group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ADHD symptoms and K-TEA reading scores improved for both the ADHD and ADHD+D groups following atomoxetine treatment. Correlation analyses indicate that improvements in reading outcomes cannot be explained by a reduction of ADHD symptoms alone. These findings support further exploration of the potential effects of atomoxetine on reading in children with ADHD and dyslexia or dyslexia alone.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Bennett A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Shaywitz
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Bethany K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.forename: Linda A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Wietecha
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000069445:Atomoxetine Hydrochloride; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011437:Propylamines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011932:Reading; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D011437:Propylamines; D000069445:Atomoxetine Hydrochloride