Doctors increasingly concerned about rocketing number of British athletes ‘with ADHD’
31 May 2025, 11:01 | Updated: 31 May 2025, 11:32
A significant increase in the number of athletes in Britain using ADHD medication while competing is increasingly raising concern that the drugs may be misused to boost performance.
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It comes amid the news that NHS estimates that millions of people in England are likely to have ADHD.
A total of 2,498,000 people may have ADHD, including those without a diagnosis, according to the health body.
The number of therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) granted at the national level for athletes diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has more than tripled over the past five years, according to the Telegraph.
During the same period (2019–2024), TUE applications for ADHD medication have risen more than fourfold.
The figures were released following a Freedom of Information request to UK Anti-Doping, amid growing worries that obtaining TUEs for ADHD drugs may have become too lenient.
Medications like Ritalin have long been associated with so-called “brain doping,” most notably among students during exam periods.
However, research also shows that ADHD drugs can enhance athletic performance, which is why they are banned in competition by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Concerns about misuse in sport are centered on adult diagnoses of a condition typically identified in childhood—when the risk of exploiting the TUE system is minimal—and one that doesn’t always require medication for treatment.
UK Anti-Doping said it could not provide a breakdown of how many TUEs for ADHD were issued to athletes diagnosed as adults.
This lack of data raises questions about whether the agency is adequately tracking potential patterns that might require closer scrutiny, especially in light of the sharp rise in the number of athletes using ADHD medication while competing.
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