Comparative effects of methylphenidate and mixed salts amphetamine on height and weight in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, May, 2006 by Pliszka, Steven R.; Matthews, Thomas L.; Braslow, Kenneth J.; Watson, Melissa A.

There has long been controversy as to whether stimulant treatment reduces the growth of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Safer and colleagues (Safer and Allen, 1973; Safer et al., 1972) first reported statistically significant reduction in growth averaging 3 cm of height during 3 years of long-term stimulant treatment in children. Loney et al. (1981) found that children and adolescents with ADHD who were treated with stimulants showed lower than expected gains in height and weight over a period of 5 years. Mattes and Gittelman (1983) showed a stimulant-associated decrease in growth of 3.3 cm over a 4-year period, despite the incorporation of drug holidays. Gittelman-Klein et al. (1988) randomized...