BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the association between adolescents’ adherence to attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication and their risk of committing minor offenses.MethodsUsing two Dutch databases, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and the Foundation for Pharmaceutical Statistics (SFK), we aimed to investigate the association between adherence to ADHD medication and registered minor offenses between 2005 and 2019 of 18,234 adolescents (12–18 years). We used Cox regression analyses to compare the rate of committing minor offenses of adolescents during periods of high ADHD medication adherence compared to periods of low adherence (i.e., periods with or without sufficient amounts of dispensed medication). We additionally tested associations with adherence to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) as control medication and analyzed potential reverse causation.ResultsHigh ADHD medication adherence was associated with a reduced risk of committing a minor offense of between 33% and 38% compared to low adherence periods of ≥3 months (hazard ratio [HR] 0.67, confidence interval [CI] 0.64–0.71) or ≥6 months (HR 0.62, CI 0.59–0.65). The reduction in risk can likely be attributed to ADHD medication, given the absence of effects of SSRIs and no reverse causation. The reduction rate remained between 16% and 55% per sex, stimulant versus non‐stimulant medication, different offense categories and further sensitivity analyses.ConclusionsAmong adolescents using ADHD medication, rates of criminality were lower during periods of high medication adherence, suggesting that adherence to ADHD medication may contribute to prevention of minor offenses in adolescents.

中文翻译：

---

多动症药物依从性可降低青少年犯下轻微罪行的风险


背景本研究旨在调查青少年坚持注意力缺陷/多动障碍 (ADHD) 药物治疗与犯下轻微罪行的风险之间的关系。方法使用荷兰统计局 (CBS) 和药物统计基金会 (SFK) 两个荷兰数据库，我们的目的是调查 2005 年至 2019 年间 18,234 名青少年（12-18 岁）遵守 ADHD 药物治疗与登记的轻微犯罪行为之间的关系。我们使用 Cox 回归分析来比较青少年在多动症药物依从性高的时期与低依从性时期（即有或没有足量配发药物的时期）犯下轻微罪行的比率。我们还测试了与选择性血清素再摄取抑制剂 (SSRI) 作为对照药物的依从性之间的关联，并分析了潜在的反向因果关系。结果与低依从性时期相比，高 ADHD 药物依从性与犯轻罪的风险降低了 33% 至 38% ≥3 个月（风险比 [HR] 0.67，置信区间 [CI] 0.64–0.71）或 ≥6 个月（HR 0.62，CI 0.59–0.65）。鉴于缺乏 SSRI 的作用且没有反向因果关系，风险的降低可能归因于 ADHD 药物。根据性别、兴奋剂与非兴奋剂药物、不同的犯罪类别和进一步的敏感性分析，减少率保持在 16% 至 55% 之间。多动症药物可能有助于预防青少年的轻微犯罪。