Medscape cites a study supporting ADHD medication for adults versus other modalities.

Here is why I disagree with the study's conclusion.

The medical system wants you to think that the rise in adult ADHD is due to “awareness.”

Story #1

When our oldest son was 5 years old, he played on a soccer team with a boy who, from my perspective, was “just there.” He always seemed to have a flat affect, did not laugh or smile, and was not energetic like the other boys his age. Both parents were obese but charming people.

Come to find out, the boy was heavily medicated for ADHD.

It appeared that the medication stripped him of not only his energy but his entire personality.

Story #2

In that same year, our other son, at 3 1/2 years old, was on a sugar and yeast-free diet due to a severe candida issue. Our house did not contain junk food or sugary beverages. Our older son had a classmate over for the first time. The boy wanted to see what we had to eat in our pantry. The look on his face was one of utter shock when he did not see any chips, cookies, or candy.

Soon after, our son went to this boy’s house to play. The mother, who was obese, dropped him back off at the end of the day. I was speechless when I saw my 5-year-old son. It was as if someone had taken my child and replaced him with the Tasmanian devil. He was uncontrollable physically and behaviorally. The mother could see my dumbfounded look and, with a smile on her face, said that she felt so bad for him that we do not have any sugar or junk food in the house that she filled him up literally on candy, soda, ice cream, and so forth all day. She honestly thought she was doing a good thing.

Story #3

The other day, I spoke to a stranger who said she never cooked and ate a diet of mostly cereal. The mother and daughter, who looked around 10 years old, were present and overweight. Beyond the extra weight, I couldn’t help but wonder what other issues this child and her siblings had due to not having home-cooked meals.

Story #4

Many years ago, I used to work with someone who said she was diagnosed with and medicated for depression and anxiety, but based on my observations, it appeared she had ADHD. Once I entered my holistic nutrition training, I realized her bulging eyes and ADHD symptoms may be a sign of hyperthyroidism. However, my comments fell on deaf ears at the time.

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The rise of ADHD diagnosis and medication

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

I mention all of this because there can be various underlying imbalances that can exhibit ADHD symptoms, such as dietary factors and thyroid dysregulation.

I read a study years ago (I'm sorry, I can't locate it) in which researchers observed a difference in school lunch consumption between children who went to recess before or after lunch.

They found that children who could go outside and play first to burn up energy did better at sitting still and eating their lunch. If they had to eat lunch first, they rushed through, ate fast, and did not finish because they were so anxious to go outside and play.

In 2022, the CDC reported that over 7 million children 3-17 were diagnosed with ADHD (not necessarily medicated for it), and that number jumped up from 1 million diagnosed in 2016. One million diagnosed to 7 million children diagnosed in just 6 years!

In 2023, 3.3 million children, which amounted to 5 out of 100 children in the US, were prescribed ADHD medication.

According to USAFacts, data from 2023 indicated that 6.6% (16 million) of adults in the US are taking ADHD medication annually.

The surge is attributed to better awareness and better access to care (haven’t we heard this before with the explanation for the autism rise?)

This brings me to adult ADHD and a recent Medscape article.

To throw Medscape a bone, it is a site for medical professionals who have been groomed taught to believe in medicine, not natural health. These medical professionals are not trained to identify root causes or to focus on imbalances in the body.

I read Medscape posts because it helps me to understand what drugs and treatments the allopathic community is supporting and what alternative options they dismiss or overlook.

Recently, a Medscape article reviewed the findings from a meta-analysis of 113 randomized controlled trials of adults with a diagnosis of ADHD.

My first complaint with Medscape is that when their articles discuss a recent study, they never link to the actual research.

Why not provide the source? They mentioned when the study was published and in which journal. That is it.

Here is the link to the study by Ostinelli et al. (2025).

The study

We included RCTs of at least 1-week duration for medications

Our primary outcomes were efficacy (change in ADHD core symptom severity on self-rated and clinician-rated scales at time points closest to 12 weeks) and acceptability (all-cause discontinuation).

They included studies that indicated medication outcomes at 1 week but included studies up to a 12-week.

Why not include only studies that were 12 weeks long and exclude ones of shorter duration? How can a study that is 1 week long indicate medication benefits?

Is even 12 weeks long enough to understand the drug’s effects and ADHD outcomes?

They do acknowledge this issue.

Few RCTs have examined medication effects on core symptoms beyond 12 weeks.

Are medication studies not longer because the people who fund the research do not want studies of longer duration because they know full well what the outcomes will be?

Modalities the researchers compared ADHD medications to:

They included non-medication comparatives such as cognitive behavioral therapy, cognitive remediation, mindfulness, psychoeducation, and transcranial direct current stimulation.

Some non-pharmacological therapeutic components (ie, CBT, neurofeedback, and relaxation therapy) achieved beneficial effects on ADHD core symptoms over longer timeframes, yet with discordant results across types of raters and based on a small body of evidence.

The researchers acknowledge that non-medication interventions do work for people with ADHD. The small body of evidence is due to a lack of funding and support for this type of research.

They concluded

Stimulants and atomoxetine were the only interventions with evidence of beneficial effects in terms of reducing ADHD core symptoms in the short term, supported by both self-reported and clinician-reported ratings.

However, atomoxetine was less acceptable than placebo. Medications for ADHD were not efficacious on additional relevant outcomes, such as quality of life.

Read that last sentence—no improvement to the quality of life.

Thus, why even bother with the medication?

Conflict of interest?

Lastly, the study's Declaration of Interest, which appears at the end of the article, lists a long list of pharmaceutical investments.

What are your options if you suspect ADHD-like signs and symptoms?

Here are good starting points (but work with a health professional who understands these issues and who can guide you)

• A good starting place is diet (i.e., sugar, inflammatory foods, food sensitivities, dyes/colorings, low protein, low fat, high processed carbs, nutrient deficiencies)

• Gut dysbiosis and increased intestinal permeability

• Overstimulation via extensive time on social media and video games

• Thyroid issues (get proper testing)

• Lack of unstructured play time (outdoors!)

• Blood sugar dysregulation (rollercoaster-like highs and lows)

• Vaccine ingredient effects. (Please do a deep investigation into vaccines to understand their impact. To fully understand vaccines, you must read and analyze the available information. There are many excellent resources).

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