Is ADHD Medication Safe Long-Term? Two Studies You Need to See

About this episode

The number one question on every forum, every first appointment, every DM. Is ADHD medication safe? Jonathan Murphy, PMHNP-BC, walks through the two studies that answer it — one from each side — and explains what the data actually says when you put them together. Study one: Zhang et al., 2023, JAMA Psychiatry. 278,027 individuals in Sweden followed up to 14 years. Long-term ADHD medication use was associated with increased risk of hypertension and arterial disease. No increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, blood clots, or arrhythmias. The medication raises blood pressure. That is the signal. That is the whole signal. Study two: October 2026, JAMA Network Open. Meta-analysis of 19 studies, 15.9 million participants. Untreated ADHD carries a 70% higher risk of death from all causes, 90% higher risk of suicide, 55% higher risk of injury death. Men lose 6.78 years of life. Women lose 8.64 years. ADHD medication was associated with a 25% reduction in all-cause mortality. One study says the medication modestly increases blood pressure. The other says not taking the medication costs you years of your life. The blood pressure is monitorable. The mortality is not. That