Prescriptions for ADHD treatment methylphenidate continue to increase... High proportion of adolescent males

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Sang-hyun = The rapidly increasing number of prescriptions for 'methylphenidate', a treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is mistakenly known as 'a drug that helps you study' or 'a drug that improves concentration', is not slowing down.

According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Korea Institute of Food and Drug Safety on the 4th, the number of prescriptions for methylphenidate, a medical narcotic, in the first half of this year was 58.05 million, an increase of 12.1% compared to the same period last year.

Compared to the 42.13 million prescriptions in the first half of 2024, it increased by 37.8%.

This year's monthly prescriptions for methylphenidate exceeded 10 million in April and June. In the first half of last year, May had the highest number at 9.22 million.

The overall number of patients prescribed methylphenidate also exceeded last year this year. The number of patients who were prescribed this drug in June of this year was 225,000, which was 35,000 more than the same month last year.

Approximately half of the patients and doses prescribed for methylphenidate are under the age of 19.

In the first half of this year, the number of prescriptions for people under 19 years old was 28.81 million. In particular, the number of prescriptions for men under the age of 19 was 20.9 million, which was much higher than the number of prescriptions for women of the same age group (7.91 million).

The amount of methylphenidate prescriptions for men under the age of 19 is steadily increasing, reaching 15.78 million in the first half of 2024 and 18.73 million in the first half of 2025.

The increase in methylphenidate prescriptions is more noticeable compared to other medical narcotics.

In the first half of this year, prescriptions for painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs, and sedative hypnotics each increased by 0.4-4.5% compared to the first half of last year, while prescriptions for appetite suppressants and antitussive drugs decreased compared to the previous year.

The government launched a promotional campaign using videos to prevent misuse and improve awareness of methylphenidate, whose prescription volume is increasing.

The video featuring actors Seo Young-hee and Kim Tae-young conveys the message that methylphenidate is not a nutritional supplement and that there is no medicine that can help you study well.

Methylphenidate must be taken according to a doctor's prescription, and if taken by people without related diseases, they may experience side effects such as headaches, insomnia, hallucinations, and paranoid thoughts.

An official from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said, "We detected 1,733 illegal online sales and brokerage posts related to methylphenidate through special inspections in May and August of this year," and added, "You can be punished if you purchase the drug online without a prescription or take the drug received from someone else."