During the first six months of the year, the Poison Information Centre received 1,496 questions about poisoning with ADHD medication, which is an increase of 8 per cent compared to the same period last year. In total, the Poison Information Centre received 2,467 questions about poisoning with ADHD medication in 2023, writes Dagens Medicin.
Among younger people aged 15 to 19, most poisoning cases were assessed as self-harm and 15 per cent as suicide attempts.
We have seen that self-harm is increasing, both in the youth group and among 20- to 24-year-olds, says Johanna Grass, chief physician and medical responsible at the Poison Information Centre to the newspaper.
She believes that poorer mental health and possibly increased prescription of the medication can explain the increase.
A survey conducted by Dagens Medicin shows that questions about ADHD poisoning have increased by 250 per cent over the past ten years.
The number of ADHD diagnoses has also increased sharply in Sweden. Recently, the government commissioned the Medical Products Agency to review the use of ADHD medication.
