June 16, 2021
A newly-published systematic review by a British team identified48 qualitative and quantitative studies that explored "ADHD in primary care, including beliefs, understanding, attitudes, and experiences." The studies described primary care experiences in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, Singapore, Iran, Pakistan, Brazil, and South Africa.
More than three out of four studies identified deficits in education about ADHD. Of particular concern was the training of primary care providers (PCPs), most of whom received no specific training on ADHD. In most places, a quarter or less of PCPs received such training. Even when such training was provided, PCPs often rated it as inadequate and said they did not feel they could adequately evaluate children with ADHD.
There was even less training for adult ADHD. A 2009 survey of 194 PCPs in Pakistan found that ADHD was not included at all in medical training there and that most learned from colleagues. Half readily admitted to having no competence, and less than one in five were shown to have adequate knowledge about ADHD. In a 2009 survey of 229South African PCPs, only 7 percent reported adequate training in childhood ADHD, and a scant one percent in adult ADHD.
These problems were by no means limited to fewer developed countries. A 2001 U.K. survey of 150 general practitioners found that only 6percent of them had received formal ADHD training. In a 2002 study of 499Finnish PCPs, only half felt confident in their ability to diagnose ADHD. A2005 survey of 405 Canadian PCPs likewise found that only half reported skill and comfort in diagnosis. In a 2009 survey of 400 U.S. primary care physicians, only 13 percent said they had received adequate training. A 2017 study of Swiss PCPs found that only five of the 75 physicians in the sample expressed competence in diagnosis.
Eight studies explored knowledge of DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) criteria and clinical guidelines among PCPs. Only a quarter of PCPs were using DSM criteria, and only one in five were using published guidelines. In a 1999 survey of 401 pediatricians in the U.S.and Canada, only 38 percent reported using DSM criteria. A 2004 survey of 723U. S. PCPs found only 44 percent used DSM criteria. In a 2006 UK study of 40general practitioners, only 22 percent were aware of ADHD criteria. In the same year, a survey of 235 U.S. physicians found that only 22 percent were familiar with ADHD guidelines, and 70 percent used child behavior in the office to make a diagnosis. More encouragingly, a 2010 U.S. study reported that the use of APA (American Psychological Association) guidelines by PCPs had expanded markedly between1999 and 2005, from one in eight to one in two.
Given these facts, it is unsurprising that many PCPs expressed a lack of confidence in treating ADHD. In a 2003 survey of 143 South African general practitioners, two-thirds thought it was difficult to diagnose ADHD in college students. A 2012 U.S. study of 1,216 PCPs found that roughly a third lacked confidence in diagnosis and treatment. More than a third said they did not know how to manage adult ADHD. In a 2015 survey of 59 physicians and138 nurses in the U.S., half lacked confidence in their ability to recognize ADHD symptoms. This was especially pronounced among the nurses. A 2001 U.K.survey of 150 general practitioners found that nine out of ten wanted further training on drug treatment, and more than one out of ten were unwilling to prescribe due to insufficient knowledge.
Misconceptions about ADHD were widespread. In a survey of380 U.S. PCPs, almost half thought ADHD medications were addictive, one in five thought ADHD was "caused by poor diet," more than one in seven thought "the child does it on purpose," and one in ten thought medications can cure ADHD. Some studies reported that many PCPs believed ADHD was related to the consumption of sugary food and drink. Others reported a gender bias. A 2002 U.S. study of395 PCPs found that when presented with boys and girls with parent-reported problems, they were significantly more likely to diagnose ADHD in boys.
A 2010 Iranian study of 665 PCPs found that 82 percent believed children adopted ADHD behavior patterns as a strategy to avoid obeying rules and doing assignments. One-third believed sugary food and drink contributed to ADHD. Only 6 percent believed it could be a lifelong condition. Half blamed dysfunctional families. The aforementioned large 2012 U.S. study similarly found that almost half of PCPs believed ADHD was caused by absent or bad parenting. More than half of 399 Australian PCPs surveyed in 2002 believed inadequate parenting played a key role. In a 2003 study of 48 general practitioners in Singapore, a quarter blamed sugar for ADHD. A 2014 survey of 57French pediatricians found that a quarter thought ADHD was a foreign construct imported into France, and 15 percent attributed it to bad parenting. In all, ten studies reported a widespread belief that ADHD was due to bad parenting, with ratios varying from over one in seven PCPs to more than half. They were particularly likely to attribute hyperactivity to dysfunctional families and to dismiss parents' views of hyperactivity as a medical problem as a way to deflect attention from inadequate parenting. While a third of the studies reported on stigma, the surprise was that it did not seem to play as big a role as expected. A 2012study in the Netherlands found that 74 physicians and 154 non-medical professionals matched by age, sex, and education showed no differences in the level of stigmatization toward ADHD.
On the other hand, the studies identified significant resource constraints limiting more effective understanding, diagnosis, and treatment. Given the complex nature of ADHD, the time required to gain relevant information, especially in the context of competing demands on the attention of PCPs, was a limiting factor. Many studies identified a need for better assessment tools, especially for adults.
Another major constraint was PCP's uneasiness about medication. Studies found a widespread lack of knowledge about treatment options, and more specifically the pros and cons of medication relative to other options. This often led to an unwillingness to prescribe.
Yet another limitation was the difficulties PCPs had in communicating with mental health specialists. One study found that less than one in six PCPs received communications from psychiatrists. Much of this was ascribed to "system failure": discontinuity of care, no central accountability, limited resources, buck-passing. Many PCPs were unsure who to turn to. Another problem is often faulty interactions between schools, parents, children, and providers. Parents often fail to keep appointments. Schools and parents often are less than cooperative in providing information. In a 2004 survey of 786 U.S. school nurses, less than half reported good levels of communication between schools and physicians. Schools and parents often apply pressure on PCPs to issue a diagnosis. In the U.S. survey of 723 PCPs, more than half reported strong pressure from teachers to diagnose ADHD, and more than two-thirds said they were under pressure to prescribe medication.
The authors noted, "The need for education was the most highly endorsed factor overall, with PCPs reporting a general lack of education on ADHD. This need for education was observed on a worldwide scale; this factor was discussed in over 75% of our studies, in 12 different countries, suggesting that lack of education and inadequate education was the main barrier to the understanding of ADHD in primary care.
"In addition, "time and financial constraints affect the opportunities for PCPs to seek extra training and education but also affect the communication with other professionals such as secondary care workers, teachers, and parents." The authors cautioned that only eleven of the 48 studies were published since 2010. Also, because it was a systematic review and not a meta-analysis, there was no way to evaluate publication bias.
They concluded, "Better training of PCPs on ADHD is, therefore, necessary but to facilitate this, dedicated time and resources towards education needs to be put in place by the service providers and local authorities."
B.French, K. Sayal, D. Daley, “Barriers and facilitators to the understanding of ADHD in primary care: a mixed‐method systematic review,” EuropeanChild & Adolescent Psychiatry (2018), https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-018-1256-3.
Prevalence of cannabis use among pregnant women is on the rise with the spread of legalization. The most frequently reported reasons for use are to relieve stress or anxiety, nausea or vomiting, pain, and for recreation.
Given that the primary psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a small fat-soluble molecule that can easily cross the placenta, an Israeli-U.S. research team conducted a systematic search of the peer-reviewed medical literature for studies exploring possible neuropsychiatric effects on offspring.
They included not only studies evaluating likelihood of ADHD, but also autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, depression, and psychotic symptoms. For each of these, adjustment was made for known confounding variables.
With that adjustment, meta-analysis of six studies with a total of over half a million (503,661) participants reported a 13% increase in the odds of ADHD in offspring of mothers using cannabis during pregnancy compared with offspring of mothers not using cannabis while pregnant.
That is generally considered a small effect size increase in risk. But there are multiple reasons to question even this minimal finding:
Meta-analysis of two studies with a total of 741 individuals reported a 20% increase in offspring use of cannabis among mothers who used cannabis during pregnancy, but once again this was subject to methodological shortcomings:
Some studies have suggested a link between cannabis and psychotic symptoms. But meta-analysis of four studies combining over nineteen thousand persons found no significant association between maternal cannabis use during pregnancy and offspring psychotic symptoms.
Many studies have pointed to commonalities in the etiology of ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Yet meta-analysis of five studies encompassing over half a million participants found absolutely no association between maternal prenatal cannabis use and ASD.
The remaining meta-analyses also reported no association with depression or anxiety.
With the caution that absence of evidence is not the same as evidence of absence, it is by no means clear from what is presently known that prenatal cannabis exposure has any significant neuropsychiatric effects on offspring. And if further research finds any effects, they are likely to be minor.
Dasotraline is a serotonin-norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor (SNDRI) that had been under development by Sunovion for treating ADHD and binge eating disorder.
An Indian research team conducted a systematic search of the peer-reviewed medical literature to perform meta-analyses of the quantitative outcomes of clinical trials.
Meta-analysis of five double-blinded randomized clinical trials (RCTs) with a combined total of 1,498 participants reported a small-to-medium effect size reduction in ADHD symptoms in patients given dasotraline as opposed to those given placebo.
There were, however, strong indications of publication bias. Using the trim-and-fill procedure to correct for that bias yielded a small effect size reduction in ADHD symptoms in patients given dasotraline compared with those given placebo.
Insomnia were more than four times more frequent among patients given dasotraline than among those given placebo. There was no evidence of the frequency of insomnia being dose-dependent.
Similarly, patients given dasotraline were more than four times more likely to report decreased appetite than those receiving placebo. In this case, however, the effect was clearly dose-dependent, rising from 3x for 2mg to 4x for 4mg to 5x for 6mg and almost 8x for 8mg.
The authors concluded, “dasotraline can reduce the core symptoms of ADHD, that is, hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattentiveness, leading to an overall improvement of ADHD compared to placebo. Dasotraline can also improve clinician-determined patients’ global functioning compared to the placebo. The most common adverse drug reactions related to dasotraline were insomnia and decreased appetite. However, to fill the knowledge gap, multicentric randomized active-controlled clinical trials are warranted in this domain for a successful translation into clinical practice.”
Weighing these less than impressive initial results against the cost of further RCTs, Sunovion withdrew its application for approval by the Food and Drug Administration, stating, “while Sunovion considers dasotraline to be a promising, novel treatment for binge eating disorder and ADHD, we believe that further clinical studies would be needed to support a regulatory approval for dasotraline in these indications.”
Children and adolescents with ADHD are known to have difficulties in relating to family members, peers, and teachers. Over the long run this can contribute to anxiety or even delinquency.
Several cognitive functions that allow individuals to process social information and interact with others contribute to shaping everyday social interactions. These include:
A European research team performed a systematic search of the peer-reviewed medical literature to conduct meta-analyses of ToM, Empathy, Facial and Non-Facial Emotion Recognition in children and adolescents with ADHD when compared to typical development. As a comparison measure, they also included Everyday Social Skills (using self, parent, teacher, or clinician questionnaires/interviews of social skills) as an outcome.
The search yielded 142 case-control studies (including dissertations) with a total of 16,283 participants.
Meta-analysis of 82 studies with a combined total of 10,770 participants found a very large effect size impairment in everyday social skills among children and adolescents with ADHD when compared with typically developing peers. Adjusting for covariates only strengthened the finding. There was no sign of publication bias.
This was mirrored in three out of five measures of social cognition:
The team concluded, “Our findings show that children and adolescents with ADHD have deficits in ToM, Facial Emotion Recognition, and Everyday Social Skills, three domains that warrant clinical attention.”
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