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?

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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