Table 3

Studies of late adolescent and adult height of individuals treated with stimulant medication in childhood

Design: cross sectional
	Methylphenidate (mg/day)	Duration	n	Height (cm)	Height z-score	Controls
Beck et al, 1972²⁹	Not stated No statistical analysis	Not stated	30	NS		Normal adolescents
Hechtman et al, 1984³⁰	20–50 No details given of analysis	⩾3 years	20	NS		ADHD adults never treated
Hechtman et al, 1984³⁰	20–50 No details given of analysis	⩾3 years	20	NS		Normal adults
Klein and Mannuzza, 1988³¹	45	2.24 years	61 boys	NS		Normal adolescents
Spencer et al, 1996,²¹ 1998²²	38*	4 years follow up	25† men		NS	Normal adults
	Uncertain proportion treated with stimulant
Kramer et al, 2000³²	31.2	3 years	97 men	NS		Adult family members
						Normal adults
Oettinger et al, 1977³³	Dexamphetamine 16 mg/day	4.5–16.2 years follow up	25 men	NS		Normative data

Design: longitudinal using multiple regression analysis
n, number of subjects; Duration, duration of treatment: average or range; NS, method used but did not show statistically significant evidence of attenuated growth.
*Average dose of methylphenidate or equivalent.
†Subgroup of individuals aged >18 years in a study principally of children.
Loney et al, 1981³⁴	7% of variability of adolescent height predicted by treatment side effects
Kramer et al, 2000³²	4.4% of variability of adult height predicted by treatment side effects