Teens with ADHD Get Licenses Later and Have More Motor Vehicle Crashes

Findings support informing patients and parents of crash risk and offering practical steps to reduce it.

Previous studies documenting a link between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and motor vehicle crash risk are limited by self-report of accidents, small sample size, or inclusion of only male participants. To further study this association, researchers linked electronic health records with New Jersey state traffic safety database records for approximately 18,000 adolescents (2500 with ADHD) receiving primary care within one hospital system.

Adjusting for important confounders including race/ethnicity, insurance, income, seizure disorder, disruptive behavior disorder, and prescription of ADHD medications, researchers conducted survival analyses to examine time to licensure and first motor vehicle crash. Compared with patients w…

Reviewing Author

Jenny Radesky, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardMelissa & Doug Toys (Consultant and Board of Directors)

Grant/Research SupportNational Institute for Child Health and Development; National Institutes of Health

Jenny Radesky, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardMelissa & Doug Toys (Consultant and Board of Directors)

Grant/Research SupportNational Institute for Child Health and Development; National Institutes of Health

Teens with ADHD Get Licenses Later and Have More Motor Vehicle Crashes

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Reviewing Author