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THE Australian
Kids on ADHD drugs 'poor at school'

    * Stephen Lunn, Social affairs writer
    * From: The Australian
    * February 17, 2010 12:00AM

CHILDREN with ADHD who use prescription drugs to manage their condition are 10 times more likely to perform poorly at school than ADHD kids who avoid medication, a new report reveals.

一份新的研究顯示，使用處方藥物來控制的過動症兒童，他們在學校的表現比那些不用藥物的過動症兒童要糟糕10倍以上。


The report also finds stimulant drugs such as Ritalin and dexamphetamine make no significant difference to the level of depression, self-perception and social functioning of a 14-year-old with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

這分研究也發現，像利他能與右旋安非他命這類的興奮劑，對於有過動症的14歲小孩來說，並不能有效改變他們憂鬱的程度、自我的知覺以及社會功能。


Those consistently using medication had significantly higher blood pressure at age 14 than children who had never taken drugs, a side-effect that could increase the risk of heart attack and stroke even into adulthood.

同樣都是14歲的小孩相比，持續用藥者的血壓顯著升高，而這項藥物副作用會增加心臟病和中風的風險，甚至延續到這些小孩長大為成人都有可能。


The report's co-author, Lou Landau, said the world-first study into the long-term effects of stimulant medication on children with ADHD, to be published today, showed "drugs over the long term don't have an impact on improving performance".

該研究的作者之一Lou Landau教授表示，這份在全球首度發表的、有關興奮劑藥物對於過動症兒童長期性影響的研究，顯示出「藥物對於改善兒童表現並沒有用」。


"They don't improve outcomes for those with ADHD, they make no difference to levels of depression, social functioning and self-perception, and for those on medication it is 10 times as likely that classroom performance will be below average," he said.

他指出：「這些藥物不會改善過動症兒童的表現，對於他們憂鬱的程度、他們的社會功能與自我知覺都沒有改變，而且服藥者在教室的表現，可能比一般兒童要差到10倍。」


Professor Landau, principal medical adviser to the West Australian Department of Health, which funded the research, said that was not to say drugs should never be used to treat ADHD. "There may be some children for whom the need to manage the condition in the short term will outweigh the long-term effects."

Landau教授是西澳大利亞健康局的首席醫療顧問，他的這項研究是由健康局撥款補助的。Landau教授表示這並不代表治療過動症時絕對不要用藥。他說：「有些兒童可能需要短期使用藥物來控制他們的情況，而且比長期使用來得好。」


The report is groundbreaking because it uses data from the Raine Study, which has been tracking the progress of more than 2800 families for two decades. Parents of the 131 children diagnosed with ADHD under the study have been providing information since the children were born. The outcomes were measured when the children were 14 years old.

這份研究報告相當有突破性，因為它採用的是Raine的研究資料，其追蹤了2800多位女性二十年來的進展。這次研究的131位被診斷過動症的兒童，他們的家長在小孩出生開始就持續提供資料。研究結果是在這些小孩14歲的時候進行評估。


West Australian Mental Health Minister Graham Jacobs said he was cautious about the study because of its relatively small sample size, but it "did call into question the anecdotal evidence from when I was a country GP that medication improved a child's concentration so they learned better".

"I think parents are starting to look at the issue more closely," he said. "In WA, we were one of the higher ADHD medication prescribers, but it started to change in the last 12 to 18 months."

西澳大利亞衛生局長Graham Jacobs則對於這份報告持保留態度，他表示因為研究的樣本規模相當小，但是「該研究的確令人懷疑我當醫生時的一種傳聞的證據，即『藥物可以改善兒童專 注力使他們更能夠學習』。」他還表示，「我認為家長正開始密切關注這個議題。西澳大利亞過去在這方面藥物的處方量比較高，但是最近的12到18個月已經在 改變了。」


West Australian Labor MP Martin Whitely, a longtime campaigner against ADHD medication, welcomed the report. "The ADHD industry's claim that without medication ADHD children risk academic failure has been shown to be complete bull," he said. "It's not just that ADHD drugs don't improve long-term school performance, they drag kids down. Parents will be furious they've been conned into giving their children taxpayer-subsidised amphetamines. No responsible parent would knowingly increase their child's chances of academic failure."

長期以來從事反對過動症藥物運動的西澳大利亞工黨議員Martin Whitely，對於這份研究報告表示歡迎。他表示，「過動症藥物治療產業宣稱過動症兒童如果不用藥會有學業不佳的風險，這份研究證明他們根本就是胡扯， 過動症藥物耕本就不能長期改善在校表現，反而把孩子拖垮。家長們如果發現納稅人的錢是拿來補助安非他命藥物，並且持續被騙這些藥物必須要給小孩吃，他們一 定會怒不可遏。任何有責任心的家長，都不會故意讓他們的小孩增加學業失敗的風險的。」


資料來源：http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/kids-on-adhd-drugs-poor-at-school/story-e6frg6nf-1225831116701

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