Older teens and adults with attention deficit disorder are much less likely to commit a crime while on ADHD medication, a provocative study from Sweden found.
It also showed in dramatic fashion how much more prone people with ADHD are to break the law - four to seven times more likely than others.
The findings suggest that Ritalin, Adderall and other drugs that curb hyperactivity and boost attention remain important beyond the school-age years and that wider use of these medications in older patients might help curb crime.
"We're beginning to understand that ADHD is a condition for many people that really lasts throughout their life," said Dr. William Cooper, a pediatrics and preventive medicine professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
