A New York Times article by Alan Schwarz (December 15, 2013) explores the dramatic growth in diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). His timely and revealing article explains the role the pharmaceutical industry has played in this phenomenon over the last twenty years. The pharma industry has been successful.<\/p>\n
In 2002, there were well under $2 billion in the sales of prescription stimulants. In 2012, such sales approached $8.5 billion.<\/p>\n
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 15% of high school students now have this diagnosis and that the number of children on such medications has increased from 600,000 in 1990 to 3.5 million currently.<\/p>\n
What is perhaps most striking is the loosened definition of ADHD. A child may be diagnosed if, for example, she \u201cmakes careless mistakes\u201d or \u201coften has difficulty waiting his or her turn.\u201d<\/p>\n
This means that there is a similarly striking increase in the (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A New York Times article by Alan Schwarz (December 15, 2013) explores the dramatic growth in diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). His timely and revealing article explains the role the pharmaceutical industry has played in this phenomenon over…<\/span><\/p>\n