(NEWSnet/AP) — Prescriptions for ADHD treatments surged among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to fuel lingering shortages

New prescriptions for stimulants used to treat the condition jumped for young adults and women during a two-year window after the pandemic hit in March 2020, according to study published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry.

Prescriptions also soared for nonstimulant treatments for adults of all ages, U.S. Food and Drug Administration researchers found.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is one of the most common developmental disorders in children. The use of drugs like Adderall to treat it climbed in general during the pandemic.

Telemedicine made it easier to get help, and regulators started allowing doctors to prescribe the drug without seeing a patient in person.

Dr. Ann Childress, a psychiatrist  in Las Vegas, says more adults began seeking for help after COVID-19 hit. Working from home made some people realize how easily they get distracted, she said. Childress says she diagnosed a lot of parents, especially mothers, who saw it in their children and realized they may have it as well.

In addition, social media made people more aware of adult ADHD, Childress said.

Federal regulators limit the production of some ADHD treatments because they are controlled substances.

Overall, the society counted more than 300 drug shortages in the U.S. as of last fall. .

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