Ritalin suppresses growth in kids

A recent study shows that Ritalin use can suppress growth in youngsters over the course of a three-year period:

After three years on the ADHD drug Ritalin, kids are about an inch shorter and 4.4 pounds lighter than their peers, a major U.S. study shows....

Whether these kids eventually grow to normal size remains a question. Kids entered the study in 1999 at ages 7 to 9. The current report is a snapshot taken three years later. The 10-year results — when the kids are at their adult height — won't be in for two more years.

Three years is about the maximum amount of time that Ritalin tends to be effective, as a side note; at that point, the advantages of Ritalin "wear off" and behavioral treatment becomes necessary. One of the researchers in this field noted, "Growth monitoring should be standard practice for kids taking these medications." But how do you determine the trade-off between your child potentially permanently losing a fraction of an inch or a couple pounds versus the tangible benefits that Ritalin seems to bring? Anyway, I guess we'll revisit this story in a couple years when the final results are in...