More 12- to 17-year-olds went to hospital emergency rooms for problems related to use of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs in 2004 than people ages 18 to 24, according to research from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Data from SAMHSA's Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) showed that there were about 8,000 ER visits for drugs like Ritalin, Concerta, and Adderal in 2004. Among those legally prescribed the drugs, ER visits occurred at the rate of 1.6 per 100,000 population among 12- to 17-year-olds and 0.4 per 100,000 among those ages 18 to 24. Among nonmedical users of the drugs, the rates were 1.7 visits per 100,000 population among those ages 12 to 17 and 1.0 per 100,000 among 18- to 24-year-olds.

Among ER patients using ADHD drugs nonmedically, 21 percent took the drug alone, 20 percent used it with alcohol, 26 percent used it with an illicit drug, and 57 percent used it in combination with other pharmaceuticals.

"These findings suggest an alarming level of nonmedical use that could have life-threatening consequences, such as heart attack or stroke," said Assistant Surgeon General Eric Broderick, D.D.S., M.P.H., SAMHSA's acting deputy administrator. "Parents need to help break this dangerous pattern of behavior by carefully monitoring their child's use of ADHD medication."