A college survey reported past-month stimulant use in 4% of analyzed respondents, but it could not separate prescribed use from nonmedical use. Its stimulant category also included methylphenidate products, so that percentage is not an amphetamine-specific misuse estimate.
Vo and colleagues invited 17,450 undergraduates at one northeastern US university to complete an online survey in October 2011. The analysis used 1,976 complete and reliable responses, including 79 respondents who reported stimulant use during the preceding month.
Reported products included Adderall, Vyvanse, dextroamphetamine, Ritalin/methylphenidate and Concerta. Although the article’s title refers to amphetamine stimulants, the analyzed category therefore combined amphetamine-containing medicines with methylphenidate, a different drug.
The protocol did not permit investigation of whether use was medical or nonmedical, how medications were obtained, or whether respondents had an ADHD diagnosis. Reasons such as improving mental performance or staying awake do not independently resolve prescription status or determine whether use followed medical instructions.
Stimulant users more often reported several other exposures and symptoms, including antidepressant use and certain sleep, mood and concentration complaints. These were self-reported associations. The survey did not experimentally administer drug combinations or establish that a particular combination caused the reported symptoms.
Reporting two medicines within the same recall period does not establish their exact doses, simultaneous administration, blood concentrations or a pharmacological interaction in a particular respondent. The article discussed possible mechanisms and risks, but this survey did not measure those mechanisms directly.
The low response rate, single-campus setting, predominance of women and self-report design limit prevalence estimates and generalization. No specimens confirmed drug identity or exposure. The study is useful for identifying questions about medication histories and co-use, while its categories and missing information must remain visible when discussing amphetamine, misuse or individual impairment.
Read our analysis of self-reported motivational and cognitive reasons for stimulant use.
Concurrent use of amphetamine stimulants and antidepressants by undergraduate students. doi:10.2147/PPA.S74602.