World of Psychology

Adderall and Death: It’s Team FDA versus Team Canada!

By John M. Grohol, PsyD
Founder & Editor-in-Chief

Adderall and Death: It’s Team FDA versus Team Canada!

On February 9, 2005, Health Canada (HC) announced that it was suspending sales of Adderall XR in Canada because of concerns that it might lead to sudden death and stroke. The FDA, however, has begged to differ.

Both agencies claim to have analyzed the same data, yet according to their respective health advisories, their numbers look different. HC reported 20 sudden unexplained deaths (“SUD”s) linked to Adderall from 1999-2003, while the FDA reported only 12. What gives?

We called both agencies for answers, but only the FDA responded. According to FDA spokeswoman Crystal Rice, six of HC’s deaths were in adults, which the FDA ommitted from its analysis because of the high baseline rate of SUDs in adults. Of HC’s 14 remaining pediatric SUDs, the FDA claims that one was a duplicate case, and that another should not be included because it involved a child who was found with cocaine “on his lap” at death.

Allright, so the number of pediatric Adderall-related deaths is actually 12. But is this greater than the rate associated with other stimulants?


Comments


View Comments / Leave a Comment

This post currently has 2 comments. You can read the comments or leave your own thoughts on our new comments page.

Trackbacks

No trackbacks yet to this post.


    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 11 Apr 2005
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Grohol, J. (2005). Adderall and Death: It’s Team FDA versus Team Canada!. Psych Central. Retrieved on February 14, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2005/04/09/adderall-and-death-its-team-fda-versus-team-canada/

 

Recent Comments
  • John M. Grohol, PsyD: Hi Dave – There always has been and always will be misdiagnosis when it comes to any...
  • lucrezaborgia: I’m coming late to the discussion so forgive me if I say something that has been brought up in...
  • Harold A. Maio: Patients feel insulted, stigmatized and dismissed I have expereined being insulted. I have...
  • Stacy: I to this day am bullied by my older sister. I’m contemplating legal action.
  • Dave Hommel: Dr G, Thanks for your response. I have met several families in person with children who were incorrectly...
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter



Find a Therapist


Users Online: 3820
Join Us Now!