TABLE 2. Percentage of women who filled prescriptions for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications, by medication type, and average number of ADHD medication prescriptions filled per year, among women aged 15–44 years with private employer-sponsored insurance* who filled any ADHD prescription from outpatient pharmacies† — United States, 2003–2015.
| ADHD medication¶ | % by year§ |
||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |
| Amphetamine |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.3 |
| Mixed amphetamine salts |
44.6 |
45.4 |
49.7 |
54.6 |
57.0 |
56.1 |
55.8 |
56.5 |
57.3 |
58.0 |
59.4 |
60.3 |
60.8 |
| Dexmethylphenidate |
1.0 |
1.1 |
2.2 |
4.1 |
4.7 |
4.4 |
4.1 |
3.8 |
3.7 |
3.5 |
3.2 |
3.1 |
3.1 |
| Dextroamphetamine |
6.0 |
4.3 |
3.5 |
3.1 |
3.2 |
2.9 |
2.7 |
2.4 |
2.4 |
1.9 |
1.7 |
1.6 |
1.5 |
| Lisdexamfetamine** |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
4.0 |
12.9 |
17.6 |
20.9 |
23.3 |
24.2 |
24.4 |
24.6 |
26.7 |
| Methamphetamine |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
| Methylphenidate |
42.8 |
38.1 |
37.3 |
35.7 |
33.6 |
30.3 |
28.1 |
25.5 |
24.6 |
22.8 |
21.2 |
20.4 |
18.1 |
| Pemoline** |
1.1 |
0.7 |
0.4 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
| Atomoxetine |
20.6 |
24.5 |
19.7 |
13.7 |
10.9 |
9.2 |
7.5 |
6.5 |
5.5 |
4.9 |
4.4 |
4.1 |
3.8 |
|
No. of eligible women with ≥1 ADHD prescription filled per year
|
21,333 |
28,003 |
33,189 |
37,595 |
69,518 |
92,424 |
123,404 |
149,340 |
194,466 |
216,496 |
199,574 |
219,860 |
183,053 |
| Average no. of prescriptions filled per year (SD)†† | 5.5 (4.4) | 5. 5 (4.4) | 5.6 (4.4) | 5.9 (4.6) | 6.0 (4.7) | 6.1 (4.7) | 6.3 (4.7) | 6.4 (4.8) | 6.5 (4.8) | 6.7 (4.9) | 6.9 (5.0) | 7.1 (5.1) | 7.2 (5.1) |
Source: Truven Health MarketScan Commercial Database.
Abbreviation: SD = standard deviation.
* Women aged 15–44 years enrolled ≥11 member months per year in a plan that includes prescription drug coverage were defined as “eligible.”
† The same woman could be included in multiple years of data.
§ Percentage of privately insured reproductive-aged women with each ADHD prescription medication dispensed was calculated among eligible women with at least one prescription filled for any ADHD medication in the given year.
¶ Not mutually exclusive; percentages might sum to >100% because multiple medications might have been prescribed to individual women within 1 calendar year. The first eight medications are stimulant ADHD medications and the last medication (atomoxetine) is a nonstimulant ADHD medication; these were the medications searched for in this analysis.
**Lisdexamfetamine was first approved by the FDA in 2007; pemoline was discontinued in 2005.
†† Among privately insured reproductive-aged women with at least one ADHD medication filled; this calculation is based on the average number of prescriptions filled each year from any type of ADHD medication.