Research in recent years has shown Twitter can be more than just a social tool, predicting flu outbreaks and other infectious diseases. A new study finds that in the case of Adderall, it can also signal drug abuse.
Tweets about the drug, which is used to treat attention deficit disorder, were tracked based on proximity to campuses. Adderall mentions showed a spike in use mid-week and during the final exam months of May and December, according to the study, published in April in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
Examples of tweets study authors saw included “Adderall stockpile for finals” and “Adderall, Coffee, Red Bull. Epic focus. Or a heart attack.”
“In my perception, based on these tweets, it’s getting passed around like candy,” said Carl Hanson, PhD, MCHES, a study author, director of Brigham Young University’s master of public health program and an associate professor in health science. “Somebody’s got the prescription and it’s getting handed around. That’s not a healthy thing to be doing.”
The study reviewed about 214,000 tweets from more than 132,000 unique users between November 2011 and May 2012.
The most common side effects students tweeted about included loss of appetite and sleep deprivation, the study said. About 9 percent of the tweets referenced a combined use of Adderall with either alcohol or another stimulant, such as caffeine.
The highest rates of Adderall use were traced to schools on the East Coast, Hanson said. Further research about why the rate is higher in that region is needed. Other questions include whether Adderall use correlates to factors such as higher admission rates, deep-rooted fraternity and sorority life or higher academic standards, he said.
Hanson said he is concerned that the more that Adderall misuse is referenced in social media, the more it becomes “no big deal” among college students, an attitude he said can be dangerous and needs public health attention.
“Co-ingestion aside, Adderall can kill you, especially for those individuals with underlying heart conditions and issues,” Hanson told The Nation’s Health. “The drug on its own is a very dangerous drug.”
Hanson, who collaborated with Brigham Young University’s Department of Computer Science on the study, said the next step is to figure out what to do with the data to reduce Adderall abuse among college students.
“Maybe this would renew our interest in college campus norms and the need to promote stronger student well-being through student wellness programs, and better study habits to balance the demands of academic life,” Hanson said. “Those are the implications for us as public health educators in my mind.”
For more information, visit www.jmir.org/2013/4/e62.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
