A study using the National Prescription Audit commercial database revealed a significant increase in prescriptions for Schedule II (C-II) stimulants and nonstimulant attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This increase was particularly notable in young adults and females.
It covered the period from April 2018 to March 2022, analysed monthly incident prescriptions for oral formulations in five classes: antidepressants, benzodiazepines, C-II stimulants, nonstimulant ADHD drugs, and buprenorphine products labeled as medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD).
The analysis focused on patients with no prescriptions within the same drug class in the prior 12 months, ranking top prescriber specialties and identifying the two most dispensed drugs for each class.