Urbanites more likely to get ADHD stimulants

From the New Zealand Herald

City dwellers are five times more likely to be prescribed hyperactivity stimulants than people living in remote areas, research shows.

A new study analysing prescription rates for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications in Western Australia has found a big geographical variation.

The state has historically much higher rates of prescribing psycho-stimulants such as Ritalin than the rest of Australia.

Of the 15,690 people prescribed the ADHD drugs in 2003, about half were boys, and another quarter were adult men. Women and girls made up the other 25 per cent.

The University of Western Australia researchers found that only 3 per cent came from remote areas, a significantly low proportion when adjusted for population numbers.

And boys from poor families had a much higher rate of stimulant use than their better-off counterparts.

Adults had the biggest discrepancy, with city dwellers about five times more likely to be prescribed Ritalin or another stimulant treatment, dexamphetamine.