Karachi: At some middle and high schools in United States, 1 in 4 teens report they’ve abused prescription stimulants for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder during year prior, new study found.

“This is first national study to look at nonmedical use of prescription stimulants by students in middle and high school and we found tremendous, wide range of misuse,” said lead author Sean Esteban McCabe, director of Centre for Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “In some schools there was little to no misuse of stimulants, while in other schools more than 25 percent of students had used stimulants in nonmedical ways,” said McCabe, who is also professor of nursing at University of Michigan School of Nursing. “This study is major wake-up call.” Nonmedical uses of stimulants can include taking more than normal dose to get high, or taking medication with alcohol or other drugs to boost high, prior studies have found.

Students also overuse medications or “Use pill that someone gave them due to sense of stress around academics they are trying to stay up late and study or finish papers,” said pediatrician Dr. Deepa Camenga.

Published in The Daily National Courier, April, 20 2023

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