Question
Question: Does childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increase the risk of substance use disorders (SUDs) in adolescence and young adulthood?
Outcomes: Persistent substance use, abuse or dependence meeting DSM-IV TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition, Text Revision) criteria for SUDs. Single substance categories included alcohol, cannabis, cigarettes, tobacco or nicotine; other outcomes included any psychoactive SUD (excluding nicotine) or drug use disorder (DUD; excluding alcohol and nicotine).
Methods
Design: Systematic review with meta-analysis.
Data sources: MEDLINE, CINHAL, PsycINFO and EMBASE were searched from the database inception to October 2009. Additional articles were identified by hand search of reference lists.
Study selection and analysis: Inclusion criteria were English language prospective cohort studies comparing substance use in primary school children (≤12 years) with and without ADHD (DSM-III, DSM-III-R, DSM-IV criteria or DSM-II hyperkinetic disorder) and following participants to a mean age of 18 years or older. Inclusion…