A pediatric trial found improved parent-rated achievement and other quality-of-life domains with lisdexamfetamine relative to placebo. These questionnaire findings concern perceived functioning, rather than directly measured grades or academic test gains.
Banaschewski and colleagues reported outcomes from a seven-week randomized trial in children and adolescents aged 6–17 with ADHD. The full analysis set included 317 participants across lisdexamfetamine, placebo and an osmotic-release methylphenidate reference arm.
The prespecified primary quality-of-life domain was Achievement on the Child Health and Illness Profile parent questionnaire. A separate parent scale assessed functional impairment. These outcomes add information beyond the core ADHD symptom score.
Lisdexamfetamine significantly improved the Achievement domain relative to placebo. Significant improvements were also reported for Risk Avoidance, Resilience and Satisfaction. A questionnaire domain name should not be mistaken for a directly observed event: Achievement does not independently establish a change in school marks.
The methylphenidate arm supplied an active reference. The study was not designed or powered to support a definitive head-to-head efficacy ranking between those medicines. Numerical effect-size differences do not remove that limitation.
Discontinuation was substantial and differed between treatment groups, with lack of efficacy commonly reported in the placebo arm. Endpoint analyses used the last valid on-treatment assessment, which is not the same as every participant completing seven weeks.
Strict eligibility criteria, parent reporting and industry funding should accompany interpretation. These short-term ratings support a defined perceived-functioning benefit; they do not establish long-term educational outcomes, individual driving safety or a therapeutic blood-amphetamine cutoff.
See maintenance outcomes in a separate randomized-withdrawal study.
Health-Related Quality of Life and Functional Outcomes from a Randomized, Controlled Study of Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate in Children and Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. doi:10.1007/s40263-013-0095-5.