Does ADHD Treatment Cut Alcoholism Risk?
Adolescent medicine specialist Cheryl Kodjo, MD, treats ADHD teens at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, where she is assistant professor of pediatrics. Kodjo says kids with undiagnosed, untreated ADHD certainly are at increased risk of drug and alcohol abuse. “These kids don’t fit in well with their peers and are not doing well in school,” Kodjo tells WebMD. “They recognize they are not like other kids and may self-medicate with substances.” Kodjo says the crucial question is whether treating childhood ADHD cuts kids’ risk of later alcohol and drug abuse. “People who have ADHD have more of a tendency to be impulsive. If they are treated, theoretically the medications should control that, giving them a chance to think things through and be more organized,” Kodjo tells WebMD. “The kids I work with who have ADHD have done pretty well as teens.” Molina says it’s difficult to separate out the effects of ADHD treatment. That’s because treatments vary, as does the severi
