Prevalence of ADHD diagnosis and nonmedical prescription stimulant use in medical students

Abstract

Objective: The authors aimed to determine the prevalence of ADHD diagnosis and the prevalence of nonmedical prescription stimulant use among a sample ofmedical students. Methods: An anonymous survey was administered to 388 medical students (84.0% return rate) across all 4 years of education at a public medical college. Results: Eighteen medical students (5.5%) reported being diagnosed with ADHD and 72.2% of those students were diagnosed after the age of 18. Thirty-three medical students (10.1%) reported using prescription stimulants for nonmedical purposes duringtheir lifetime. The most commonlyreported motivation for nonmedical prescription stimulant use was to improve academic performance. There was no significant correlation between an ADHD diagnosis and a historyofnonmedical prescription stimulant use (p = 0.072). Conclusion: This survey suggests that medical students appear to be a relatively high-risk population for nonmedical prescription stimulant use. Copyright © 2010 Academic Psychiatry.