Beyond symptom control: ADHD pharmacotherapy and real-world risk reduction – a narrative review

Background

ADHD is associated with substantial impairment and elevated risks of severe real-world adverse events across the lifespan (e.g., suicidal behavior, motor vehicle crashes, substance misuse, criminality, and premature mortality). While randomized trials establish short-term efficacy for symptom control, evaluating long-term real-world risk reduction requires synthesizing evidence from diverse observational and causal-inference designs.