Change of Quality of Life in Children with ADHD after 12 Weeks OROS-Methylphenidate Treatment

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of treatment with osmotic-release oral system methylphenidate (OROS-MPH) on quality of life (QOL) in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Another aim is to assess the relationship between change in QOL and other factors including children's symptoms and academic performance or parents' depression and parenting stress. METHODS: A total of 111 medication-naive children with ADHD in a multicenter, open-label, 12-week trial of OROS-MPH completed an evaluation using diverse rating scales at two time points; at baseline and after 12 weeks of treatment. Scales for investigation of children included the Parent Report Form-Children's Health and Illness Profile-Children's Edition (PRF-CHIP-CE) on QOL, the ADHD Rating Scale-IV on symptoms, and the Academic Performance Rating Scale (APRS). The Beck Depression Inventory and Parenting Stress Index were used for assessment of their parents. RESULTS: Total scores for mean PRF-CHIP-CE increased from 207.9+/-26.7 at baseline to 226.3+/-25.9 after 12 weeks of treatment (p<.001). The change of APRS showed the strongest correlation with the increment of PRF-CHIP-CE scores (Pearson coefficient= 0.561, p<.001), even after controlling for other factors (partial correlation coefficient=0.420, p<.001). CONCLUSION: Treatment with MPH-OROS results in improvement of QOL in children with ADHD in Korea. The advance in academic performance plays a key role in this change of QOL.