Off-label use of methylphenidate for cognitive enhancing among academic students

• Autor(a) principal: Raissa Carolina Fonseca Cândido
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Outros Autores: Edson Perini, Cristiane Aparecida Menezes de Pádua, Joyce Costa Melgaço de Faria, Daniela Rezende Garcia Junqueira
• Tipo de documento: Artigo de conferência
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFMG
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.1002/pds.4275; http://hdl.handle.net/1843/46425
• topic: Medicamentos; Off label; Metilfenidato; Estudantes; Medicamentos

Background: The use of psychostimulants for cognitive enhancing (CE), especially methylphenidate, is a recognized practice among academic students. This practice has become a public health problem in many countries, such as Canada, United States and United Kingdom. In Brazil, methylphenidate is a prescription drug used for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and narcolepsy. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of the use of methylphenidate for CE among undergraduate and graduate students. Methods: Students of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, one of the largest Brazilian universities, were invited by e-mail to answer a web-based questionnaire including: (i) demographics details; (ii) data on the use of methylphenidate for CE; and (iii) information on habits andlifestyle. Data were collected from September 2014 to January 2015. Absolute and relative frequesncies were estimated. A multivariate analysis was performed by applying the decision tree method using the classification and regression tree – C&RT algorithm to classify the cases of use of methylphenidate for CE in groups based on the exposure variables. Results: The study included 378 students, and 5.8% reported the ever use of methylphenidate for CE; 41% reported the use of methylphenidate for CE in the four weeks preceding the survey. The housing situation was the variable which best classified the students. When considering the use of methylphenidate for CE and other purposes, 11 students reported using the drug in the four weeks preceding the survey, and 27% of them had no prescription to purchase it. The use of other drugs was also reported by 34.1% of the students, notably the use of opioids (11%). Conclusions: Our results demonstrate a high prevalence of the practice of CE with the use of methylphenidate, similar to that observed in other countries (7%). Off-label prescriptions and the acquisition of methylphenidate without a prescription may be a reason of concern, especially due to the increased use and the risk of harms associated with this drug. In addition, it demonstrates important failures in the control of the commercialization of this drug.