Academic outcomes in Asian children aged 8–11 years with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder treated with atomoxetine hydrochloride

Abstract

Objective. To investigate the relationship between changes in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) core symptoms and changes in academic outcome of Asian children treated with atomoxetine. Methods. This open-label study enrolled patients aged 8–11 years with DSM-IV-TR-defined ADHD, who were naïve to ADHD medications and met the symptomatic severity threshold of 1.5 standard deviations above the age and gender norm for the ADHDRS-IV-Parent:Inv (ADHDRS) total score. Data collection occurred for 24 weeks and included academic outcome, measured by the school grade average (SGA). Results. Of 228 patients enrolled from China (n = 82), Taiwan (n = 76), and Korea (n = 70), 77.2% completed the study. Statistically significant (P < 0.001) baseline to last observation improvements in ADHDRS and SGA scores were observed. However, no linear correlation between change in ADHDRS total score and SGA (−0.083, P = 0.293) was observed. Conclusions. Despite significant independent improvements in core ADHD symptoms and academic grades over 24 weeks, the mean improvements observed in these measures did not appear to be correlated.

Key Words::

• ADHD
• Asia
• atomoxetine
• academic achievement
• correlation

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the participants, their parents/guardians and the other investigators involved. For statistical analyses, we thank Richard Walton and Lucia Han of Eli Lilly and PSI Statisticians in the Pharmaceutical Industry Limited. This study was funded and sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company, manufacturer of atomoxetine.

Statement of interest

Luis Mendez, Pritibha Singh and Gavan Harrison were employees of Eli Lilly and Company at the time the work was conducted. Yu-Shu Huang, Xingming Jin and Soo Churl Cho have no conflicts of interest to declare.