Impact of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Treatment Adverse Effects on Quality of Life and Functioning of Pediatric Patients and Their Parents/Caregivers

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatment adverse effects (AEs) on quality of life (QoL) and functioning of pediatric patients and their parents/caregivers.

METHODS: An online survey was conducted (10/13/2023-10/20/2023) among parents/caregivers recruited from Dynata’s US panel who lived with a pediatric patient (6-17 years) currently treated for ADHD. Patients were considered to have AEs if they experienced symptoms/complications in the past month that appeared, worsened, or remained unchanged after initiating their latest ADHD treatment; patients without AEs included those who did not experience any symptoms/complications in the past month. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize patients’ QoL (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory [PedsQL], 0-100 points; completed by parents/caregivers) and parents/caregivers’ anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 [GAD-2], 0-6 points), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-2 [PHQ-2], 0-6 points), and work/activity impairment (Work Productivity and Activity Impairment: Caregiver [WPAI-CG]; 0-100%).

RESULTS: There were 268 parents/caregivers living with patients with AEs and 101 living with patients without AEs (patient median age: both 11 years; 62.3% and 57.4% male, respectively). On average, patients with AEs experienced 2.6 AEs (1.8 within past month), with insomnia/sleep disturbances being the most frequently reported (26.1%). Patients with AEs relative to those without had lower QoL (mean PedsQL score: 55.7 and 70.4, respectively). Their parents/caregivers (median age: 37 years; 45.5% male) relative to those of patients without AEs (median age: 40 years; 24.8% male) had high likelihood of mental health issues in greater proportions (anxiety: 41.0% and 18.8%, respectively, had GAD-2 score ≥3; depression: 36.2% and 14.9%, respectively, had PHQ-2 score ≥3), and greater work/activity impairment (WPAI-CG: 45.4%/43.2% and 21.5%/24.5%, respectively) (all standardized differences>20%).

CONCLUSIONS: The presence of ADHD treatment AEs was associated with worse QoL, mental health, and impairment in ADHD patients and their parents/caregivers. Therapies with better safety profiles may help improve QoL in this population and improve parent/caregiver outcomes.