ADHD has long been associated with higher rates of criminal behavior, but most studies have relied heavily on self-reported data and small, non-representative samples. A new Swedish study addresses these limitations, providing a more comprehensive and reliable picture using data from nationwide registers. It sheds light on the role of ADHD medication in reducing the risk of criminal convictions, offering insights for clinicians, policymakers, and families.

Previous Research: The Denmark Comparison

Earlier research, such as a 2019 Danish study, found that ADHD diagnosed in children and adolescents ages 4 to 15 was associated with a 1.6-fold increased risk of future criminal conviction. However, these findings were limited by a smaller sample size and a focus on just one nation’s context. Like Denmark, Sweden’s single-payer universal healthcare system allows for the collection of extensive data on health and crime records, providing an ideal environment for large-scale, population-based research.

Swedish Study Design: A Robust Approach

To investigate ADHD’s connection to criminal behavior, the Swedish research team analyzed records from a cohort of 1,646,645 individuals born between 1986 and 1997. They excluded those who died or emigrated before age 15 (the age of criminal responsibility in Sweden) and those who immigrated to Sweden, resulting in a final study group of 1,235,939 individuals. Slightly more than half of the cohort was male.

ADHD diagnoses were based on clinical records and prescriptions for approved ADHD medications, while criminal convictions—both violent and nonviolent—were identified using Sweden’s National Crime Register, covering the years 2001 to 2013. The study adjusted for various potential confounding factors, including sex, birth year, parental education, and other psychiatric conditions. They also used the Swedish Multi-Generation Register to control for unmeasured familial factors to compare outcomes among full siblings.

Key Findings: ADHD and Criminality

The study found that ADHD is strongly associated with increased rates of criminal convictions. Compared to individuals without ADHD, those with an ADHD diagnosis were roughly:

• Four times more likely to be convicted of a violent crime.
• Twice as likely to be convicted of a nonviolent crime.

Interestingly, when comparing conviction rates among males and females with ADHD, the rates of nonviolent convictions were similar, but females with ADHD were about 25% more likely to be convicted of a violent crime than males with ADHD.

The Role of Medication: A Significant Moderating Factor

The research also highlighted the importance of ADHD medication in reducing criminal behavior. When individuals with ADHD who were taking medication were excluded from the analysis, the data showed significantly higher rates of criminal convictions:

• Unmedicated males with ADHD had a 50% higher rate of violent convictions and more than double the rate of nonviolent convictions compared to their typically developing peers.
• Unmedicated females with ADHD faced even greater risks, with nearly triple the rate of violent convictions and quadruple the rate of nonviolent convictions.

These findings suggest that ADHD medications can significantly reduce the risk of both violent and nonviolent criminal behavior in individuals with ADHD, emphasizing the value of pharmacological treatment for those with the condition.

Clinical Implications: Medication as a Risk-Reducing Strategy

The researchers concluded that “ADHD is a strong risk factor for both violent and non‐violent criminal convictions in males and females even after adjustments for psychiatric comorbidities and unmeasured familial factors.” The study also found that untreated ADHD poses a particularly high risk for criminal behavior, highlighting the protective role of medication.

These findings are clinically relevant for several reasons. First, they reinforce the importance of ensuring that individuals with ADHD have access to effective treatment options, especially during the transition from adolescence into adulthood, which is statistically a period of higher risk for criminal behavior. Additionally, the study provides critical data for shaping public policy and interventions aimed at supporting individuals with ADHD, with a focus on reducing criminality through proper management of the disorder.

Conclusion:

This study offers new insights into the complex relationship between ADHD, medication, and criminal behavior, emphasizing the crucial role of treatment in mitigating risks. It provides a compelling case for prioritizing access to ADHD medication as part of a broader strategy for supporting those with ADHD.

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A recent U.S. study challenges assumptions about the link between prescription stimulant use for ADHD and later substance abuse. Adolescents who used prescription stimulants under a physician’s supervision did not exhibit increased rates of non-medical stimulant use or cocaine use as they transitioned into young adulthood. However, other factors, like binge drinking and cannabis use, showed significant associations with later substance misuse, suggesting that the landscape of risk is more complex than previously understood.

Stimulants and ADHD: Understanding the Risks

Prescription stimulants are considered one of the most effective treatments for ADHD. While these medications can significantly improve focus and behavior, concerns have persisted that using stimulants during adolescence might predispose individuals to substance use disorder (SUD). Some theories suggest that early exposure to stimulants could increase the likelihood of cocaine use, as both substances affect the brain's dopamine pathways similarly.

Yet, previous research often lacked large, longitudinal studies focusing on adolescents with ADHD who had never been treated with stimulants. To fill this gap, a research team followed a nationally representative cohort of 11,905 high school seniors (12th graders, mostly aged 18) for six years, tracking their substance use behaviors.

Study Design: Following the Participants

At the start of the study, participants completed surveys regarding their ADHD treatment history—whether they had used stimulant therapy, non-stimulant therapy, or no medication at all. This formed three groups:

• Adolescents treated with stimulant therapy for ADHD
• Adolescents treated with non-stimulant therapy for ADHD (ADHD controls)
• Adolescents with no history of ADHD treatment (non-ADHD controls)

Participants then completed follow-up surveys every two years, reporting on their use of substances like prescription stimulants and cocaine, as well as their engagement in behaviors like binge drinking and cannabis use.

Key Findings: No Direct Link to Non-medical Stimulant or Cocaine Use

The study found no significant differences in the rates of non-medical stimulant use or cocaine use among the three groups. Adolescents who had been prescribed stimulant medications were not more likely to misuse prescription stimulants or cocaine as young adults than those who had not received such medications.

However, other behaviors at age 18 showed strong associations with later substance use:

• Binge drinking during late adolescence was linked to an 80% increase in the likelihood of subsequent nonmedical prescription stimulant use and cocaine use.
• Nonmedical use of prescription opioids at age 18 increased the odds of later nonmedical stimulant use by 50% and of cocaine use by two-thirds.
• Cannabis use by age 18 more than tripled the likelihood of later non-medical stimulant use and increased the odds of subsequent cocaine use sixfold.

Clinical Implications

The study’s findings have important implications for both clinicians and families managing ADHD. Although ADHD is associated with an increased risk of SUD, the researchers observed no higher risk of nonmedical stimulant use among adolescents who had taken stimulant therapy compared to those who hadn’t. Additionally, there was no evidence that stimulant medications posed a greater risk than non-stimulant medications for subsequent misuse.

The findings also highlight the need for more robust screening for alcohol and other drug use among adolescents. As the study notes, current guidelines do not recommend routine screening for substance misuse in adolescents due to limited evidence. However, given the associations found between binge drinking, cannabis use, and later substance misuse, such preventive measures could play a key role in reducing risks during this vulnerable period of development.

Ultimately, the study sheds light on the multifaceted nature of substance use risks in adolescents and young adults, suggesting that while prescription stimulant use for ADHD under medical supervision may not directly contribute to substance abuse, the broader context of an adolescent’s behaviors and environment is crucial in shaping future outcomes.

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A meta-analysis of eight studies with a combined total of over 396,000 persons with ADHD reported a twofold greater risk of premature death in persons with ADHD as compared with the general population. There was no significant difference in mortality between males and females with ADHD.

But when natural causes of death, primarily disease, were distinguished from unnatural causes, such as injuries and poisoning, virtually all the increased risk was attributable to the latter.

A meta-analysis of four studies with a combined total of over 394,000 participants with ADHD found no significant increase in natural mortality among persons with ADHD. This held for both males and females.

But a meta-analysis of ten studies with over 430,000 persons with ADHD found a nearly threefold increase in unnatural mortality (injuries, poisoning, etc.) in persons with ADHD. Among females (five studies, over 110,000 participants) the increase was threefold. Males with ADHD (five studies, over 310,000 participants) were 2.5 times more susceptible to premature death.

An important caution: in all of these meta-analyses, between-study heterogeneity was extreme, meaning there was little consistency from one study to the next. Moreover, no effort was made to evaluate the likelihood of publication bias.

The largest study, with over 275,000 participants with ADHD, found a negligible and only marginally significant 7% increased all-cause risk of death. It found no increase in natural causes of mortality, but a 50% increase in unnatural causes of premature mortality.

The authors described these results as "suggestive," but emphasized that "the evidence was judged as only low confidence," in line with "inconsistent" evidence from previous nationwide population studies: in Denmark, a twofold increase in all-cause mortality; in Sweden, a fourfold increase; but in Taiwan, a tiny 7% increase that was at the limit of statistical significance, once the data was fully adjusted for confounding factors.

That led the authors to suggest "that all relevant potential confounders should be accounted for" in "future studies."

Researchers from the Swedish Department of Global Public Health, the Swedish Transport Agency, and the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute collaborated in a nationwide population study of motor vehicle crashes among the elderly, defined as 65 and older.

They availed themselves of the country's all-encompassing national registers to identify the anonymized records of all such drivers from 2011 through 2016. That enabled them to compare crash records of those with known driving-impairing conditions with matched drivers who had no record of such conditions.

They looked only at road traffic crashes that resulted in injury to the driver or a passenger. For anyone with multiple crash records, they only looked at the first.

This was a case-control study, with two controls matched to each case wherever possible. For every case of a 65 or older driver involved in an injurious crash, the team randomly matched two individual controls by sex, birth year, municipality of residence, and other medical conditions. Place of residence was used to distinguish residents of large cities, who would tend to drive less frequently and in denser traffic, from those in small towns and rural areas. To minimize controls that never drive, only those with a driver's license and car were considered.

Of the thirteen medical conditions examined, elderly drivers with "ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and similar conditions" had by far the highest odds of being in crashes that resulted in injury "at almost three times the rate of those without those conditions."

But note carefully the serious limitations in the data:

• ADHD was bundled in with autism spectrum disorder and "similar conditions", making an unalloyed evaluation impossible.
• Out of a total of 13,701 crashes, only 26 involved any of these conditions.
• Because of the small number, the two-for-one matching broke down completely. Only 17 matched controls could be found, less than a third of the target of 52.
• That means that despite a nationwide sample involving over 40,000 cases and controls, the sample size for "ADHD, autism spectrum disorder and similar conditions" was only 43.

The authors noted that while the high odds ratio "for ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and similar conditions, are in line with previous studies on young adult drivers and adult drivers in this recent cohort of older, Swedish adults, such conditions are very uncommon compared to younger adults, suggesting likely under-diagnosis. Hence, the results should be interpreted with caution."

A team of German researchers explored five million member records from a database that tracks more than sixty nationwide statutory health insurance programs. The database closely tracks the characteristics of the overall German population.

This was a longitudinal cohort study, tracking individuals first diagnosed with adult ADHD between 2013 and 2017. Anyone who was not continuously insured during this period was excluded, as were those who died, plus anyone older than 55 to prevent bias from high morbidity in the top age brackets.

The study team used the database to add up direct healthcare costs, including inpatient care, outpatient care, psychotherapy, medical aids and remedies, medication, and sickness benefits. In Germany, sickness benefits kick in after more than six weeks of continuous inability to work.

The study tracked data within a window extending both four years back and four years forward from the initial adult ADHD diagnosis.

The resulting study cohort consisted of 2,380 persons between 18 and 55, initially diagnosed with ADHD at an average age of 35. Sixty percent were male.

One-third were prescribed ADHD medication upon diagnosis. Four years later, only one-eighth were still on medication.

Almost two-thirds received psychotherapy, dropping to under a third in succeeding years.

During the year following diagnosis, average healthcare costs totaled about €4,000 per individual. For those who initiated ADHD medication, the average cost was just over €5,400, and for those who did not it was almost €3,500.

The authors concluded, "An important finding of the present investigation is that in the year of initial diagnosis, less than one-third of individuals received any prescription of ADHD-specific medication, and only a fourth got at least two prescriptions. At the same time, almost two-thirds of individuals received psychotherapy in the year of ADHD[adult ADHD] diagnosis. In about one-third of individuals, psychotherapy had been initiated already before a diagnosis of ADHD, presumably for treatment of comorbid disorders. ... In current German guidelines, ADHD-specific medication is recommended as the first choice ... Apparently, despite the vast body of evidence for the beneficial effects of ADHD-specific medication, at least in the short-term, and in contrast to the recommendations of previous and current guidelines, stimulant medication is only reluctantly prescribed in newly identified adults with ADHD. ... Overall, our findings suggest that significant deficiencies may currently exist concerning the reality of healthcare for ADHD in Germany, and that guideline recommendations are not yet comprehensively implemented in everyday routine care."

Previous population studies have shown that children with ADHD have a much higher risk of traumatic injuries than their normally developing peers, and that such risk can be greatly reduced with methylphenidate treatment.

But what about the parents of children with ADHD? How does their risk compare with that of parents of normally developing children?

Taiwan has a single-payer public health insurance system that maintains comprehensive healthcare records of virtually every resident.

A Taiwanese research team availed itself of the Taiwan Maternal and Child Health Database, which covers 99.8% of all births, to identify 81,401 fathers and 87,549 mothers who had at least one offspring with ADHD and 1,646,100 fathers and 1,730,941 mothers with no offspring with ADHD.

The team determined children's ADHD status based on either an inpatient diagnosis or four or more  diagnoses.

It looked for parental traumatic injuries including burn injury, fracture, and traumatic brain injury.

To address covariates, it adjusted for age, urbanicity, low-income level, and competing risk of death.

Adjusted for those covariates, parents of children with ADHD were 20% more likely to suffer bone fractures, 27% more likely to have traumatic brain injuries, and 30% more likely to have burn injuries requiring medical treatment than parents of normally developing children.

The elevated risks were significant across the board, but roughly twice as much s for mothers as for fathers of children with ADHD - up 30% vs 15% for bone fractures, up 35% vs 23% for burn injuries, and up 45% vs 21% for traumatic brain injuries.

The authors noted that ADHD is highly heritable and that the findings may in part point to undiagnosed adult ADHD.

Another contributing factor, they suggested, is that "studies have revealed that a high proportion of parents having children with ADHD experience depression and anxiety. Stress-related negative emotions (depression and anxiety) were shown to cause loss of concentration, thereby increasing the likelihood of accidental events such as traffic accidents and contributing to the increased risks of traumatic injury among parents of children  ADHD."

The much-higher elevated risk for mothers seems to support this hypothesis, because mothers continue to be the principal caregivers in Taiwan, and are thus more exposed to the behaviors of their children. The authors cited a study indicating that "diagnosis of ADHD for children was reported to be a predictor of increased caregiver burden."

They concluded, "Given that knowledge is fundamental to act, it is essential to educate the parents of children with ADHD on the increased risk of traumatic injuries they may have. ... The need for behavioral and pharmacological intervention in parents of children with ADHD should be evaluated, especially in the parents with undiagnosed ADHD or sub-threshold ADHD symptoms. It deserves further prospective studies with longer follow-up periods to explore whether undiagnosed ADHD, care burden of parents, and children's aggressive behaviors contribute to the increased risks of traumatic injuries in parents of children with ADHD."

Danish health care is universal and free. That means there is very complete data available that covers the entire population. The health registers are linked to other national registers that provide access to socioeconomic information. That offers unusual opportunities to research correlations across an entire national population.

Moreover, the health care system requires a high standard for diagnosis of ADHD - evaluation by specialist doctors or psychiatrists rather than a general practitioner. An exception is when parents seek a diagnosis from a private practicing child psychiatrist, in which case diagnostic registration is not mandatory and data is therefore incomplete.

A trio of Danish researchers used the country' national registers to conduct a nationwide population cohort study to explore the cumulative effects of social disadvantages as risk factors for being diagnosed with ADHD.

They looked at all 632,725 children born in Denmark during the 1990s, of which 23,287 (3.7 percent) either had a registered diagnosis in the Patient Registry or else were undergoing ADHD treatment before age 18. Of these, 12,610 children had a registered ADHD diagnosis and entered medical treatment, 4,049 children had a registered diagnosis with no medical treatment, and 6,628 children entered medical treatment with no registered diagnosis. The latter were presumably diagnosed by private practicing psychiatrists. Adjustments were made for gender, immigrant status, birth characteristics (weight, gestational age), single-parenthood, parent ADHD diagnosis, and the number of children in the household.

The study determined that parental educational attainment had the largest effect on the risk of ADHD. Having parents who completed no more than the minimum compulsory education was associated with a 3.5 percentage point higher risk of getting an ADHD diagnosis. Completing no more than upper secondary education was associated with a 1.3 percent higher risk. But there was a sharp bifurcation in the two alternative components of upper secondary education. Children of parents who completed a vocational track faced a 1.7 percent increase in risk, whereas those whose parents completed a college preparatory track faced a negligible 0.17 percent increase.

Parental unemployment also had a significant effect. Youths whose parents were unemployed most of the year faced a 2.1 percent higher risk of ADHD, whereas those whose parents were unemployed less than half the year faced a 1.3 percent higher risk.

Relative income poverty had a comparable impact. Children of parents in the lowest income quintile faced a 2.3 percent higher risk of ADHD than those of parents in the uppermost income quintile. Those in the second-lowest quintile faced a 1.9 percent higher risk than those in the uppermost quintile; those in the middle quintile a 1.3 percent higher risk, and those in the second-highest quintile a 0.8 percent higher risk.

All three cases showed a dose-response relationship, in which higher gradations of social disadvantage were associated with higher levels of risk.

Since these social disadvantages often overlap, the researchers looked at combinations as well and found them to be roughly additive in effect. Parental unemployment plus relative income poverty was associated with a 1.9 percent higher risk of offspring ADHD. Parental unemployment plus completion of no more than compulsory education was associated with a 3.2 percent higher risk. Parental relative income poverty plus completion of no more than compulsory education produced a 4.2 percent higher risk. Finally, Parental relative income poverty plus completion of no more than compulsory education plus unemployment was associated with a 4.9 percent higher risk.

The authors concluded, "This study shows that specific and well-measured parental social disadvantages in terms of unemployment, relative income poverty, and low educational attainment independently affect the risk of ADHD."

Youths with ADHD are at higher risk of suicide, burn injuries, road injuries, and more generally all-cause mortality than normally developing children. Methylphenidate (MPH) is known to be effective in reducing ADHD symptoms. Can it also reduce the risk of all-cause mortality? A team of Taiwanese researchers, collaborating with two British researchers, explored that question by looking at a nationwide population cohort.

Taiwan has a single-payer national health insurance system that includes the entire population (99.6 percent coverage). Using the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD), the team identified over 183,000 youths under 18 with an ADHD diagnosis. Of these, just over 68,000 had been prescribed to MPH. The team matched them with an equal number of ADHD youths who were not prescribed MPH. All records were anonymized and checked against the National Mortality Register.

All-cause mortality was split into two subcategories. Unnatural-cause mortality consisted of homicide, suicide, and motor vehicle fatalities. Natural-cause mortality encompassed all other premature deaths. In the raw data, ADHD youths on MPH had half the all-cause mortality of those not on MPH. Natural-cause mortality was down about 40 percent and unnatural-cause mortality was by almost two-thirds. In the non-MPH group, 32 committed suicide in the follow-up year, versus only a single individual in the MPH group. There were seven homicide victims in the non-MPH group, versus none at all in the MPH group.

These staggering reductions, however, were almost exclusively among males. The team then adjusted for potential confounding variables - gender, age, residence, insurance premium, out-patient visits, and pre-existing diagnoses. In the adjusted model, the risk for all-cause mortality was still reduced - by about 20 percent - for those on MPH and remained statistically significant. Virtually identical reductions were found for males and for children first diagnosed with ADHD between 4 and 7 years old. But all other risk estimates became statistically non-significant, due in large measure to the rarity of mortality events.

The authors concluded, "This is the first study reporting that a longer interval between first ADHD diagnosis and first prescription of MPH is associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality. In addition, we also found that participants receiving longer-duration MPH treatment had a lower risk of all-cause mortality. ... an implication is that receiving a diagnosis earlier and receiving medication earlier may reduce the risk of later adverse consequences."

They nevertheless cautioned, "although we adjusted for multiple covariant, information lacking in the database precluded the measurement of other possible confounders, such as family history, psychosocial stressors, the effect of behavioral therapy or severity of comorbidities. Therefore, as with all observational data, it is not possible to be conclusive about whether the association with lower mortality is related to an effect of MPH treatment itself or whether other characteristics of the children receiving MPH may account for the lower risk (i.e. confounding by indication).

Finally, although the cohort sizes were large, the number of deaths was small, and this limited statistical power, particularly for the investigation of cause-specific mortality and of subgroup differences. Because of the relatively low number of deaths and limited follow-up duration, longer-term studies with larger samples are warranted ..."

Children with ADHD are at higher risk of getting severe burns than normally-developing children. Burn injuries can be traumatic, imposing physical, psychological, and economic burdens on children, their families, and society. Methylphenidate is known to be effective in reducing ADHD symptoms. Can it also reduce the risk of burn injuries?

A team of Taiwanese researchers collaborating with two British researchers explored that question by looking at a nationwide population cohort. Taiwan has a single-payer national health insurance system that includes the entire population (99.6 percent coverage). Using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database(NHIRD), they identified over 90,000 youths under 18 years old with a diagnosis of ADHD. Youths who had burned injuries before diagnosis were excluded. ADHD youths were further divided into three groups: those not prescribed methylphenidate (over 22,000), those prescribed methylphenidate for less than 90 days (over 17,500), and those prescribed methylphenidates for 90 days or more(over 50,000).

Because methylphenidate is the only approved stimulant in Taiwan, it was the only stimulant analyzed in this study. Atomoxetine, a non-stimulant, is also approved in Taiwan, but only for those whose, outcomes with methylphenidate are suboptimal. It was only used by 4 percent of those on ADHD medication, and generally after prior use of methylphenidate, so there was no way to evaluate its effectiveness. Among ADHD youths not on methylphenidate, the proportion who got burn injuries was 6.7 percent. That dropped to 4.5 percent for those medicated for under 90 days, and to 2.9 percent for those on longer-term medication.

Calculations indicated that half of all burn injuries could have been prevented if all youths had been on methylphenidate. After adjusting for multiple confounders - seizure, intellectual disability, autism, conduct disorder, opposition defiant disorder, anxiety, depression, and psychotropic use (benzodiazepine, Z-drugs, antipsychotics, and antidepressants) that taking methylphenidate for any length of time was 38 percent less likely to suffer burn injuries. Moreover, longer-term medication had a greater beneficial effect. Those taking methylphenidate for under 90 days were 30 percent less likely to get burn injuries, whereas those taking it for 90 or more days were less than half as likely to get burn injuries as those not on methylphenidate.

The authors emphasized, "This nationwide population-based study has several strengths. First, the nationally representative sample was substantial and minimized selection bias. Second, patients with ADHD were identified through physician-based diagnoses. Third, all MPH [methylphenidate] prescriptions are recorded in the NHIRD, avoiding misclassification bias. Also, by excluding burn injuries before ADHD diagnosis, the reverse causal relationship between ADHD and burn injury was eliminated."

A newly published meta-analysis of 57 studies encompassing almost a third of a million participants has uncovered a very strong association between ADHD and suicide, a strong association with suicidal ideation, and a small-to-medium association with suicide attempts.

The population examined included children, adolescents, and adults. Only persons formally diagnosed were considered to have ADHD. Studies that included self-injuries without suicidal intent were excluded. Most of the studies focused on European and American populations, with one in six from other locations, mostly Asian.

The most striking result was for actual suicides. The odds ratio (OR) for four datasets encompassing roughly one hundred forty thousand participants was 6.69 (95% CI 3.24 to 17.39, p <.0001). As a frame of reference, an OR of 1.5 is a small effect size, 2.5 is a medium one, and 4.3 is a large one. That means the effect size, in this case, is very large.

For suicidal ideation, 23 datasets with a combined total of just over 73,000 participants produced a medium-to-large OR of 3.5 (95% CI 2.94 to 4.25, p < .0001). In three datasets with more than nine thousand participants that adjusted for confounders, the adjusted OR was 4.5 (95% CI 1.72 to 11.63, p < .0001), indicating a large effect size.

For suicide attempts, 44 datasets encompassing over 228,000 participants produced an OR of 2.4 (95% CI1.64 to 3.43, p < .0001). In six datasets with over 65,000 participants that adjusted for confounders, the adjusted OR dropped to 2.1 (95% CI 1.27 to 3.47,p = .005).

There was no evidence of publication bias for studies on suicides or suicidal ideation, but significant evidence of bias for studies on suicide attempts (Eager's p = .03). This means that studies with positive findings were more likely to be published than negative studies.

There was, however, strong statistical evidence for differences between studies in the size of their ORS.  This indicates that the pooled OR cannot summarize results from all datasets, and more work is needed to clarify why the ORS differs among studies.

The authors appropriately caution that their meta-analysis is not informative on cause-effect relationships, but offer as a hypothesis that ADHD contributes to suicidal spectrum behaviors (SSBs) through Impulsivity, a core symptom of ADHD, along with impaired decision-making and risk-taking, that characterize several individuals with ADHD Additionally, a sizeable portion of individuals with ADHD present with deficits in executive functions. As executive functions are implicated in the regulation of impulse control and emotions, executive dysfunctions may contribute to SSBs.

Given the large to very large effect sizes for suicide and suicidal ideation, the authors advise: Awareness of this association should prompt practitioners to systematically screen for SSBs in patients with ADHD at the first assessment and at each follow-up, which in turn should contribute to decreasing the risk of SSB's. This is particularly noteworthy considering that questionnaires/scales commonly used to screen/assess ADHD symptoms generally do not include suicide-related items.

Behavioral disinhibition is a trait associated with both ADHD and several genes that affect dopamine signaling. A new study by three American medical researchers set out to examine how these ADHD risk genes - DRD4 (dopamine 4 receptor density), DAT1 (dopamine 1 transporter), and DBH(dopamine beta-hydroxylase) - affect estimated life expectancy in young adulthood.

The method used was a longitudinal study of 131 hyperactive children and 71 matched controls through early adulthood. The original evaluations were done in 1979-1980, when both groups were children in the 4 to 12 age range. They were reevaluated in1987-1988 as adolescents aged 12 to 20. The next follow-up was in 1992-1996 in early adulthood, aged 19 to 25. The final follow-up was in 1998-2004, for adults aged 24 to 32. All agreed to physical examinations that formed the basis for calculating estimated life expectancy using actuarial tables that factor in the effects of smoking, body mass index, alcohol, and other risk factors of on expected longevity. Participants also provided blood samples that enabled gene typing.

For the DAT1 gene, participants who had the homozygous-repeat allele (9/9) had a five-year reduction in estimated life expectancy relative to those with the ten-repeat allele (10/10). Those with the intermediate (9/10) configuration had a three-year reduction in estimated life expectancy.

For the DBH Taq1 gene, those with a heterozygous (A1/A2) combination had almost a three-year reduction in estimated life expectancy relative to those with homozygous (A1/A1 or A2/A2)configurations.

For DRD4, on the other hand, no significant differences were found in estimated life expectancy.

In a related study, several background traits were found to be significantly predictive of variance estimated life expectancy. The largest of these was behavioral disinhibition, followed by verbal IQ, self-rated hostility, and a nonverbal fluency test. But no significant differences were found between any of the gene polymorphisms on any of these four measures, indicating that the present gene associations were independent of the background traits.

The researchers next sought to determine which variables used in the estimated life expectancy calculations were associated with the two significant genes. For DBH, one variable stood out. Those with the A1/A2 heterozygous pairings had almost twice the alcohol consumption of those with homozygous pairings (p = 0.023).

For DAT1, two variables stood out. Overall, the 9/9 pairings smoked two and a half times as much as the 10/10pairings, with the 9/10 pairings midway between the extremes (p = 0.036). They were also 73 percent more likely to be smokers relative to the 10/10 pairings, and 61 percent more likely relative to the 9/10 pairings. They also had significantly less education than the 10/10 pairings, with the 9/10 pairings again being intermediate (p = 0.027).

An obvious limitation of the study was its small sample size. The authors cautioned, our findings should be considered quite preliminary and in need of much greater research before being given much weight in the literature or public policy.

"With these limitations in mind, they concluded, the present study demonstrated that two ADHD risk genes (DB Hand DAT1) independently contributed to a reduction in ELE [estimated life expectancy] beyond the second-order variables of behavioral disinhibition, IQ, hostility, and nonverbal fluency that contributed in the related study to variation in ELE. The gene polymorphisms seemed to be influencing ELE through their affiliation with first-order or more proximal factors related to ELE such as education, smoking, alcohol use, and possibly exercise."

ADHD, especially when untreated, impairs patients and creates difficulties in families.  

Although these are the proximal targets of treatment, ADHD also burdens society due, for example, to underemployment and the use of health resources.   A recent study assessed the economic burden using the Danish population registries, researchers, which link medical information with employment, education, crime, and social care registers while maintaining confidentiality. They identified 5,269 adults with adult ADHD who had not been diagnosed with ADHD in childhood and, we can assume, were probably not treated for the disorder. They excluded patients with other psychiatric diagnoses and cases without a same-sex sibling free of any diagnosed psychiatric diagnoses. That left 460 pairs of same-sex siblings, one with an adult with ADHD and the other with no psychiatric diagnosis. They selected the non-ADHD sibling closest in age to the ADHD sibling. Using siblings mitigated the effects of genetics and upbringing between the ADHD group and normally developing controls.

Looking at personal income (combining work income and public transfers), adults with ADHD on average brought home about 12,000 Euros less - almost a third less - than their sibling counterparts. They also paid 40% less tax. Balancing that out, their after-tax income was roughly 7,500 Euros less than their siblings. With the additional personal cost of prescribed medication(prescriptions are relatively inexpensive in Denmark, and co-payments even more so) the net personal cost to adults with ADHD was 7,700 Euros.

The net public costs were considerably greater. That was primarily due to the reduction in taxes paid (about 4,500 Euros) and the increase in income replacement transfers (just over 5,500 Euros). The cost of additional crimes committed by adults with ADHD added another 1,000 Euros. Additional primary and secondary health care costs contributed another 1,000 Euros. Subsidies for prescribed medicines added 661 Euros, but that was partly counterbalanced by a reduction of 344 Euros in education costs. There were no significant differences in costs from traffic accidents or adult continuation of foster care. Overall, the net per capita public cost of adults with ADHD was just over 12,400 Euros each year.

Combining public and private costs, the per capita economic burden of adult ADHD was just over 20,000 Euros each year.

The study could not evaluate the extent to which ADHD treatment may reduce the economic burden, but given many studies that show treatment for ADHD reduces impairments, we would expect treatment to have a positive impact on the economic burden.  These results are extremely important for policymakers and for those who control the allocation of treatment in healthcare systems.  Although treating ADHD incurs costs, not treating it incurs even greater costs in the long run

Drivers with ADHD are far more likely to be involved in crashes, to be at fault in crashes, to be in severe crashes, and to be killed in crashes. The more severe the ADHD symptoms, the higher the risk. Moreover, ADHD is often accompanied by comorbid conditions such as oppositional-defiant disorder, depression, and anxiety that further increase the risk.

What can be done to reduce this risk? A group of experts has offered the following consensus recommendations:

·        Use stimulant medications. While there is no reliable evidence on whether-stimulant medications are of any benefit for driving, there is solid evidence that stimulant medications are effective in reducing risk. But there is also a “rebound effect” in many individuals after the medication wears off, in which performance becomes worse than it had been before medication. It is therefore important to time the taking of medication so that its period of effectiveness corresponds with driving times. If one has to drive right after waking up, it makes sense to take a rapid-acting form. The same holds for late-night driving that may require a quick boost.
·        Use a stick shift vehicle wherever possible. Stick shifts make drivers pay closer attention than automatic transmissions. The benefits of alertness are most notable in city traffic. But using a stick shift is far less beneficial in highway driving, where shifting is less frequent.
·        Avoid cruise control. Highways can be monotonous, making drivers more prone to boredom and distraction. That is even more true for those with ADHD, so it is best to keep cruise control turned off.
·        Avoid alcohol. Drinking and driving is a bad idea for everyone, but, once again, it’s even worse for those with ADHD. Parents should consider the no-questions-asked policy of either picking up their teenager anytime and anywhere or setting up an account with a ride-sharing service.
·        Place the smartphone out of reach and hearing. Cell phone use is as about as likely to impair as alcohol. Hands-free devices only reduce this risk moderately, because they continue to distract. Texting can be deadly. Sending a short text or emoticon can be the equivalent of driving 100 yards with one’s eyes closed. Either turn on Do Not Disturb mode or, for even greater effectiveness, place the smartphone in the trunk.
·        Make use of automotive performance monitors. These can keep track of maximum speeds and sudden acceleration and braking, to verify that a teenager is not engaging in risky behaviors.
·        Take advantage of “graduated driver’s licensing laws” wherever available. These laws forbid the presence of peers in the vehicle for the first several (for example, six) months of driving. Parents can extend that period for teenagers with ADHD, or set it as a condition in states that lack such laws.
·        Encourage practicing after obtaining a learner’s permit. Teenagers with ADHD generally require more practice than those without. A “pre-drive checklist” can be a good place to start. For example: check the gas, check the mirrors, make sure the view through the windows is unobstructed, put your cell phone in Do not disturb mode and place it out of reach, put on a seatbelt, and scan for obstacles.
·        Consider outsourcing. Look for a driving school with a professional to teach good driving skills and habits.

Experts do not agree on whether to delay licensing for those with ADHD. On the one hand, teenagers with ADHD are 3-4 years behind in the development of brain areas responsible for executive functions that help control impulses and better guide behavior. Delaying licensing can reduce risk by about 20 percent. On the other hand, teens with ADHD are more likely to drive without a license, and no one wants to encourage that, however inadvertently. Moreover, graduated driver’s licensing laws only have a legal effect on teens who get their licenses at the customary age.

ADHD is far more prevalent among persons with AUD (roughly20 percent) than it is in the general population. The most accurate way of identifying ADHD is through structured clinical interviews. Given that this is not feasible in routine clinical settings, ADHD self-report scales offer a less reliable but much less resource-intensive alternative. Could the latter be calibrated in a way that would yield diagnoses that better correspond with the former?

A German team compared the outcomes of both methods on 404 adults undergoing residential treatment for AUD. All were abstinent while undergoing evaluations. First, to obtain reliable ADHD diagnoses, each underwent the Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults, DIVA. If DIVA indicated probable ADHD, two expert clinicians conducted successive follow-up interviews. ADHD was only diagnosed when both experts concurred with the DIVA outcome.

Participants were then asked to use two adult ADHD self-report scales, the six-item Adult ADHD Self Report Scale v1.1 (ASRS) and the 30-item Conner's Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS-S-SR). The outcomes were then compared with the expert interview diagnoses.

Using established cut-off values for the ASRS, less than two-thirds of patients known to have ADHD were scored as having ADHD by the test. In other words, there was a very high rate of false negatives. Lowering the cut-off to a sum score ≥ 11 resulted in an incorrect diagnosis of more than seven out of eight. But the rate of false positives shared to almost two in five. Similarly, the CAARS-S-SR had its greatest sensitivity (ability to accurately identify those with ADHD) at the lowest threshold of ≥ 60, but at a similarly high cost in false positives (more than a third).

The authors found it was impossible to come anywhere near the precision of the expert clinical interviews. Nevertheless, they judged the best compromise to be to use the lowest thresholds on both tests and then require positive determinations from both. That led to successfully diagnosing more than three out of four individuals known to have ADHD, with a false positive rate of just over one in five.

Using this combination of the two self-reporting questionnaires with lower thresholds, they suggest, could substantially reduce the under-diagnosis of ADHD in alcohol-dependent patients.

Research on ADHD has extensively explored various aspects of the condition, yet surprisingly little attention has been devoted to its impact on romantic relationships. Despite over 25,000 articles on ADHD listed in PubMed, only a small number examine topics such as love, sex, and relationship dynamics.

One study by Brunner and colleagues analyzed ADHD symptoms and romantic relationship quality in 189 college students. The findings indicated that students with high levels of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattentiveness reported lower relationship quality compared to peers with fewer ADHD symptoms. Similarly, a study of 497 college students revealed that ADHD symptoms were linked to the use of maladaptive coping strategies in relationships, resulting in reduced romantic satisfaction.

In research involving young adults, ADHD symptoms were associated with greater negativity and reduced positivity during conflict resolution tasks within romantic partnerships. Higher levels of ADHD symptoms were predictive of lower relationship satisfaction. However, couples where the ADHD partner displayed only inattentive symptoms experienced fewer relational challenges, suggesting that the severity and type of symptoms significantly influence outcomes.

Regarding sexual behavior, studies highlight distinct patterns among individuals with ADHD. Adolescents with ADHD, regardless of gender, report nearly double the number of lifetime sexual partners compared to their non-ADHD peers. These findings align with research by Barkley and colleagues, who observed that ADHD predicted earlier sexual activity and parenthood. Similarly, Flory and colleagues, in a retrospective study, found that childhood ADHD was associated with earlier sexual initiation, more sexual partners, casual relationships, and unintended pregnancies.

A broader study of over 1,000 adults found that ADHD was associated with less stability in romantic relationships, difficulty providing emotional support, higher rates of sexual dysfunction, and increased divorce rates.

Although the body of research on ADHD and romantic relationships is relatively small, it consistently highlights the significant impact of ADHD on love, sex, and relational dynamics, often presenting unique challenges for those affected.

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The US Center for Disease Control's (CDC)review of ADHD starts with the statement: "Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a serious public health problem affecting many children and adults" (http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/research.html). My colleagues and I recently reviewed the ADHD literature. That let us describe ADHD as "... a seriously impairing, often persistent neurobiological disorder of high prevalence..." (Faraone et al., 2015). The figure 1, which comes from that paper, provides an overview of the lifetime trajectory of ADHD-associated morbidity.

Especially compelling data about ADHD and injuries comes from a recent paper, in Lancet Psychiatry, which used the Danish national registers to follow a cohort of 710,120 children (Dalsgaard et al., 2015a).   Compared with children not having ADHD, those with ADHD were 30% more likely to sustain injuries than other children.  Pharmacotherapy for ADHD reduced the risk for injuries by 32% from 5 to 10 years of age. Pharmacotherapy for ADHD reduced emergency room visits by 28.2% at age 10and 45.7% at age 12.    

These results are shown in Figure 2, taken from the publication.

Especially compelling data about ADHD and injuries comes from a recent paper, in Lancet Psychiatry, which used the Danish national registers to follow a cohort of 710,120 children (Dalsgaard et al., 2015a).   Compared with children not having ADHD, those with ADHD were 30% more likely to sustain injuries than other children.  Pharmacotherapy for ADHD reduced the risk for injuries by 32% from 5 to 10 years of age. Pharmacotherapy for ADHD reduced emergency room visits by 28.2%at age 10and 45.7% at age 12.    

These results are shown in Figure2, taken from the publication.  The Figure compares the prevalence of injuries among three groups.  ADHD children treated with medication, ADHD children not treated with medication, and children without ADHD.  The Figure shows how ADHD risk for injuries occurs for all age groups. It also shows how the risk for injuries drops with treatment so that by age 12, the prevalence of injuries among treated ADHD children is the same as the prevalence of injuries for children without ADHD.

Documented examples of ADHD-associated injuries which impact day-to-day functioning include severe burns (Fritz and Butz, 2007), dental injuries (Sabuncuoglu, 2007), penetrating eye injuries (Bayar et al., 2015), the hospital treated injuries (Hurtig et al., 2013), and head injuries (DiScala et al., 1998).  In one study (DiScala et al., 1998), when compared to other children admitted to the hospital for injuries, ADHD children were more likely to sustain injuries in multiple body regions (57.1% vs 43%), sustain head injuries (53% vs 41%), and to be severely injured as measured by the Injury Severity Score (12.5% vs5.4%) and the Glasgow Coma Scale (7.5% vs 3.4%).

Injuries are a substantial cause of ADHD-associated premature death.  This assertion comes from the work of Dalsgaard et al. (2015b)based on the same Danish registry discussed above.   In this second study, ADHD was associated with an increased risk for premature death and 53% of those deaths were due to injuries.  They reported the risk for premature death in three age groups: 1-5, 6-17, and >17.  For all three age groups, they found a greater risk for death in the ADHD group. For ages 6 to 17 and greater than 17. The ADHD-associated risk for mortality remained significant after excluding individuals with antisocial or substance use disorders.

There are currently no data about the effect of ADHD treatment on ADHD-associated premature death.  We do, however, know from the data reviewed above that ADHD treatment reduces injuries and that half the deaths in the ADHD group were due to injuries.  From this, we infer that ADHD treatments could reduce the risk of ADHD-associated premature death.

Two other ADHD-associated mobilities, obesity and cigarette smoking, have clear medical consequences.  In a meta-analysis of 42 cross-sectional studies comprising 48,161 people with ADHD and 679,975 controls, my colleagues and I reported that the pooled prevalence of obesity was increased by about 40% in ADHD children compared with non-ADHD children and by about 70% in ADHD adults compared with non-ADHD adults(Cortese et al.,2015). The association between ADHD and obesity was significant for ADHD medication-naïve subjects but not for those medicated for ADHD, which suggests that medication reduces the risk for obesity.  

Likewise, a meta-analysis of 27 longitudinal studies assessed the risk for several addictive disorders with sample sizes ranging from 4142 to 4175 for ADHD and 6835 to 6880 for non-ADHD controls (Lee et al., 2011).  Children with ADHD were at higher risk for disorders of abuse or dependence on nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and other unspecified substances.  Another meta-analysis (42 studies totaling, 2360 participants) showed that medications for ADHD reduced the ADHD-associated risk for smoking (Schoenfelder et al., 2014).   The authors concluded that, for ADHD patients, "Consistent stimulant treatment for ADHD may reduce the risk of smoking". This finding is especially notable given that, for ADHD youth, cigarette smoking is a gateway drug to more serious addictions (Biederman et al., 2006).

 Yes, ADHD is a serious disorder.  Although most ADHD people will be spared the worst of these outcomes, they must be considered by parents and patients when weighing the pros and cons of treatment options.

The stimulants methylphenidate and amphetamine are well known for their efficacy in treating symptoms of ADHD in both youth and adults.   Although these medications have been used for several decades, relatively little is known about the mechanisms of action that lead to their therapeutic effect.    

New data about the mechanism comes from a meta-analysis by Katya Rubia and colleagues. They analyzed 14 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data sets comprising 212 youth with ADHD.  Each of these data sets assessed the short-term effects of stimulants on fMRI-assessed brain activations. In the fMRI paradigm, ADHD and control participants are asked to do a neurocognitive task while the activity of their brains is being measured. Dr. Rubia and colleagues analyzed data from fMRI assessments of time discrimination, inhibition, and working memory, each of which is known to be deficient in ADHD patients.    

The meta-analysis found that the most consistent brain activations were seen in a region comprising the right inferior frontal cortex(IFC) and insula, even when the analysis was limited to previously medication-naïve patients. The implicated region of the brain is known to mediate cognitive control, time estimation, and attention.  Dr.Rubia also notes that other studies show that the IFC/Insula is needed for updating information and allocating attention to relevant stimuli.  

Another region implicate by the meta-analysis was the right putamen, a region that is rich in dopamine transporters. This finding is consistent with the fact that the dopamine transporter is the main target of stimulant medications.    

What is the potential clinical implication of these findings?  As Dr. Rubia and colleagues note, it is possible that the fMRI anomalies they identified could be used as a biomarker for ADHD or a biomarker to select patients who should respond optimally to stimulant medication. Although fMRI cannot be used as a clinical tool at this time, research of this sort is opening up new horizons for how we understand the etiology of ADHD and the mechanisms whereby medications exert their effects.

In the world of research, it is unusual for a single study to be definitive. A possible exception is a recent report in the highly esteemed Lancet, which concluded that people diagnosed with ADHD were about two times more likely to die early than people without ADHD. The data came from the medical registers of Denmark that include1.92 a million people, of which 32,061 have ADHD. The registers included the times and causes of deaths spanning 32 years.

It is a remarkable resource. We know that people with very severe ADHD are at high risk for substance use disorders and antisocial behaviors. In the Danish study, these disorders also increased the risk for premature death, but the risk was even higher if people with those disorders also had ADHD. ADHD also increased the risk for early death among people without these extra problems. This latter finding points to an ADHD-specific pathway to premature death. What is it?  Well, we know that ADHD people are at risk for injuries, traffic accidents, and traumatic brain injury.  We don't know for certain why, but two symptom clusters of ADHD, inattention, and impulsivity, would be expected to increase the risk for accidents and injuries. For example, adults who are distracted while driving are clearly at risk for accidents. Accidents accounted for most of the early deaths in the Danish study. But the study also found an increase in natural causes of death due to having ADHD. This may be due to the well-replicated association between ADHD and obesity, or the possibility that ADHD symptoms lead to poor health habits.

In the Danish study, the mean age at diagnosis was 12.3, which means that many of the ADHD people in the study were not treated for many years after the onset of symptoms. The risk for early death increased with the age at diagnosis. This suggests that failing to diagnose and treat ADHD early makes the disorder worse and increases the risk for the types of behaviors that lead to premature death. Will these data change public policy or clinician behavior? I hope so. Perhaps the media will stop trivializing ADHD and accept it as a bona fide disorder in need of early identification and treatment.  Policymakers should allocate ADHD people their fair share of healthcare and research resources. For clinicians, early identification and treatment should become the rule rather than the exception.

Talk of premature death will worry parents and patients. That is understandable, but such worries can be alleviated by focusing on two facts: the absolute risk for premature death is low, and this risk can be greatly reduced by seeking and adhering to evidence-based treatments for the disorder.

Although some people view the impulsivity and inattentiveness of ADHD adults as a normal trait, these symptoms have adverse consequences, which is why doctors consider ADHD to be a disorder. The list of adverse consequences is long and now we can add another: broken bones.  

A recent study by Komurcu and colleagues examined 40 patients who were seen by doctors because of broken bones and forty people who had not broken a bone. After measuring ADHD symptoms in these patients, the study found that the patients with broken bones were more impulsive and inattentive than those without broken bones. This data suggest that, compared with others, adults with ADHD symptoms put themselves in situations that lead to broken bones. What could those situations be?  

Well, we know for starters that ADHD adults are more likely to have traffic accidents. They are also more likely to get into fights due to their impulsivity. As a general observation, it makes sense that inattentive people are more likely to have accidents that lead to injuries.

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When we don't pay attention, we can put ourselves in dangerous situations. So, who should care about these results?  ADHD patients need to know about this so that they understand the potential consequences of their disorder. They are exposed to so much media attention to the dangers of drug treatment that it can be easy to forget that non-treatment also has consequences. Cognitive behavior therapy is also useful for helping patients learn how to avoid situations that might lead to accidents and broken bones.    

This study also has an important message for administrators on how to make decisions about subsidizing or reimbursing treatment for ADHD. They need to know that treating ADHD can prevent outcomes that are costly to the healthcare system, such as broken bones.  For example, in a study of children and adolescents, Leibson and colleagues showed that healthcare costs for ADHD patients were twice the cost for other youth, partly due to more hospitalizations and more emergency room visits.

Does this data mean that every ADHD patient is doomed to a life of injury and hospital visits? Certainly not.

But they do mean that patients and their loved ones need to be cautious and need to seek treatments that can limit the possibility of accidents and injury.

You've heard all sorts of misinformation about Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD), whether from friends, the internet, or uninformed press articles:

"ADHD is not real."

"Pharmaceutical companies invented ADHD to make money."

"I'm just a little ADD."

"Natural solutions are the best for ADHD treatment."

ADHD symptoms were first described in the late 1700s, primarily among hyperactive boys. It was described variously over 200 years as "fidgeting," "defects of moral control," "hyperkinetic reaction," "minimal brain damage" and eventually ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) in the 1980s and ADHD today.

Because the natural tendency toward hyperactivity decreased with age, ADHD was originally thought to be a developmental disorder that disappeared in mid-to-late adolescence. When medicines were developed and used in ADHD treatment for young boys, physicians stopped prescribing them around mid-adolescence, because it was presumed the condition had been remediated. They were wrong. We know now that ADHD persists into adulthood for about two-thirds of ADHD youth.

ADHD was not widely recognized in girls until the mid-1990s when it became clear that girls with ADHD were less disruptive than boys with ADHD and were not being appropriately diagnosed. Girls with ADHD show less of the physical hyperactivity of boys, but suffer from "dreaminess," "lack of focus" and "lack of follow-through."

It was also in the 1990s that ADHD' pervasive comorbidity with depression, anxiety, mood, and autism spectrum disorders was established. At the same time, researchers were beginning to describe deficits in executive functioning and emotional dysregulation that became targets of substantial research in the 21st century.

Even with the 1990s recognition that ADHD is a lifetime disorder, equally present (in different forms) in both men and women, medical schools and continuing medical education courses (required for realizing sure of health professionals) have only begun to teach the most up-to-date evidence-based knowledge to the medical community. There still is much misinformation and a lack of knowledge among primary care professionals and the public.

ADHD Throughout the Lifespan
Most cases of ADHD start in Otero before the child is born. As a fetus, the future ADHD person carries versions of genes that increase the risk for the disorder. At the same time, they are exposed to toxic environments. These genetic and environmental risks change the developing brain, setting the foundation for the future emergence of ADHD.

In preschool, early signs of ADHD are seen in emotional lability, hyperactivity, disinhibited behavior and speech, and language and coordination problems. The full-blown ADHD syndrome typically occurs in early childhood, but can be delayed until adolescence. In some cases, the future ADHD person is temporarily protected from the emergence of ADHD due to factors such as high intelligence or especially supportive family and/or school environments. But, as the challenges of life increase, this social, emotional, and intellectual scaffolding is no longer sufficient to control the emergence of disabling ADHD symptoms.

Throughout childhood and adolescence, the emergence and persistence of the disorder are regulated by additional environmental risk factors such as family chaos, as well as the age-dependent expression of risk genes that exert different effects at different stages of development. During adolescence, most cases of ADHD persist and by the teenage years, many youths with ADHD have onset with a mood, anxiety, or substance use disorder. Indeed, parents and clinicians need to monitor ADHD youth for early signs of these disorders. Prompt treatment can prevent years of distress and disability.

By adulthood, the number of comorbid conditions increases, including obesity, which likely impacts future medical outcomes. Emerging data shows people with ADHD to be at increased risk for hypertension and diabetes. ADHD adults tend to be very inattentive but show fewer symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity. They remain at risk for substance abuse, low self-esteem, injuries due to accidents, occupational failure, and social disability, especially if they are not treated for the disorder.

Seven Important Concepts About ADHD

There are approximately 10 million U.S. adults with ADHD, 9 million of whom are undiagnosed. But with diligent research by the medical profession, we have learned seven important concepts about ADHD:
1.    ADHD has been documented worldwide in 5% of the population.
2.    Sixty-seven percent of ADHD children grow into ADHD adults and seniors. ADHD is heritable, runs in families, and is impacted by the physical environment and familial lifestyle.
3.    In youth, rates of ADHD are higher in males than females as males, but these rates even out by adulthood.
4.    ADHD coexists and is often masked by several other disorders: anxiety, depression, spectrum bipolar and autism disorder, substance abuse, alcoholism, obesity, risky behaviors, disorganized lives, working memory deficits, and significant executive dysfunctions that affect personal, social, and work success.
5.    ADHD medications(stimulants and non-stimulants) are the most effective treatments for ADHD symptoms. Psychological support/training designed for ADHD, and lifestyle modifications, are important adjuncts to medicine.
6.    ADHD costs the U.S. economy more than $100 million annually in lost productivity, accidents, hospitalizations with comorbidities, and family and professional support for ADHD patients.
7.    ADHD is diagnosable and safely treatable in trained primary care practices.

How do you know if you or someone you love has ADHD? Evaluate your life against the seven concepts above. Then get screened and diagnosed by a health care professional. The diagnosis of ADHD should be done only by a licensed clinician who has been trained in ADHD. That clinician should have one goal in mind: to plan a safe and effective course of evidence-based treatment.

When diagnosing adults, it is also useful to collect information from a significant other, which can be a parent for young adults or a spouse for older adults. But when such individuals are not available, diagnosing ADHD based on the patient's self-report is valid. Just remember that personal, work, and family lives are improved with treatment. Research and technology related to ADHD improve all the time.

ADHD in Adults is a great resource for anyone interested in learning more about ADHD, with evidence-based information and education for both healthcare professionals and the public. The website also features a new ADHD screener for predicting the presence of ADHD in adults.

Stephen V. Faraone, Ph.D., is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience & Physiology at SUNY Update Medical University and a global expert on Adult ADHD.

The Nordic countries maintain detailed registers of their inhabitants. This enables researchers to examine patterns over entire nations. An international research team used the Swedish national registers for a prospective cohort study of 2,675,615 persons in the Medical Birth Register born in Sweden over a 27-year period from January 1, 1983, through December 31, 2009. Follow-up was completed in December 2013, with the oldest cohort member aged 31. The mean age at study entry was 6, and the mean at follow-up was 11.

Using personal identification numbers, researchers were able to cross-reference with the National Patient Register and the National Drug Register. From this, they determined that 86,670 members of the cohort (3.2 percent) had ADHD, based either on records of clinical diagnosis or of prescription of ADHD drugs. Psychiatric comorbidities were likewise identified in the National Patient Register.

These comorbidities were significantly more prevalent in the ADHD population than in the rest of the cohort. For example, whereas only 2.2% of the non-ADHD group was diagnosed with substance use disorder (SUD), 13.3% of the ADHD group also had SUD, a six-fold difference. For depression, it was a seven-fold difference, for schizophrenia a nine-fold difference.

The ADHD group had a significantly higher risk of premature death from all causes than the non-ADHD group, with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 3.94 (95% CI 3.51-4.43). Unintentional injury(36%) and suicide (31%) were the leading causes of death in the ADHD group. Those with ADHD were more than eight times more likely to die by suicide than non-ADHD individuals, and roughly four times more likely to die from unintentional injury.

The vast majority of the increased risk appears to be associated with comorbid psychiatric conditions. Those with ADHD but no diagnosed comorbidities had an adjusted HR of 1.41 (95% CI 1.01-1.97). With a single comorbidity, the HR more than doubled to 3.71 (95% CI 2.88-4.78). With four or more comorbidities, it rose to a staggering 25.22 (95% CI 19.6-32.46).

The comorbid condition with the greatest impact was SUD, which increased the risk eight-fold by comparison with those with only ADHD (HR = 8.01, 95% CI 6.16-10.41). Anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, and personality disorder increased the risk about fourfold. Bipolar disorder, depression, and eating disorder increased risk by roughly two and a half times.

Co variate analysis helped tease out what portion of the risk was associated with ADHD alone versus comorbid conditions. Adjusting for the year of birth, sex, birth weight, maternal age at birth, parental educational level, and parental employment status, those with ADHD (including comorbid conditions) were 2.7 times more likely to prematurely die of natural causes than those without. Adjusting for comorbid psychiatric conditions completely eliminated the risk from ADHD alone (HR = 1.01, 95% CI .72-1.42).

Likewise, those with ADHD (including comorbid conditions) were six times as likely to die of unnatural causes. Adjusting for early-onset comorbid disorders(such as conduct disorders, autism spectrum disorder, and intellectual disability) only modestly reduced the HR to 5.3, but further adjusting for later-onset comorbid disorders (including substance use disorder, depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorder, and eating disorders) reduced the HR to 1.57 (95% CI 1.35-1.83), and reduced it to insignificance in the case of suicide (HR = 1.13, 95% CI.88-1.45).

Summing up, the lion’s share of the greater risk of premature death in persons with ADHD is attributable to psychiatric comorbidities. Nevertheless, those with ADHD alone still face a 40 percent greater risk than those without ADHD.

The study did not examine effects of ADHD medication, which the authors state “should be analyzed because of documented potential benefits on ADHD symptoms and comorbid disorders.”

The authors concluded, “Among adults, early-onset psychiatric comorbidity contributed substantially to the premature mortality risks due to natural causes. On the other hand, later-onset psychiatric comorbidity, especially SUD, explained a substantial part of the risk for unnatural deaths, including all the risk of suicide deaths and most of the deaths due to unintentional injuries. These results suggest that overall health conditions and risk of psychiatric comorbidity should be evaluated clinically to identify high-risk groups among individuals with ADHD.”

Behavioral disinhibition is a trait associated with both ADHD and several genes that affect dopamine signaling. Anew study by three American medical researchers set out to examine how threaded risk genes – DRD4 (dopamine 4 receptor density), DAT1 (dopamine 1transporter), and DBH (dopamine beta-hydroxylase) – affect estimated life expectancy in young adulthood.

The method used was a longitudinal study of 131 hyperactive children and 71 matched controls through early adulthood. The original evaluations were done in 1979-1980, when both groups were children in the 4 to 12 age range. They were reevaluated in1987-1988 as adolescents aged 12 to 20. The next follow-up was in 1992-1996 in early adulthood, aged 19 to 25. The final follow-up was in 1998-2004, as adults aged 24 to 32. All agreed to physical examinations that formed the basis for calculating estimated life expectancy using actuarial tables that factor in the effects of smoking, body mass index, alcohol, and other risk factors on expected longevity. Participants also provided blood samples that enabled gene typing.

For the DAT1gene, participants who had the homozygous nine-repeat allele (9/9) had an a five-year reduction in estimated life expectancy relative to those with the ten-repeat allele (10/10). Those with the intermediate (9/10) configuration had a three-year reduction in estimated life expectancy.

For the DBHTaq1 gene, those with a heterozygous (A1/A2) combination had almost a three-year reduction in estimated life expectancy relative to those with homozygous (A1/A1 or A2/A2) configurations.

For DRD4, on the other hand, no significant differences were found for estimated life expectancy.

In a related study, several background traits were found to be significantly predictive of variance in estimated life expectancy. The largest of these was behavioral disinhibition, followed by verbal IQ, self-rated hostility, and a nonverbal fluency test. But no significant differences were found between any of the gene polymorphisms on any of these four measures, indicating that the present gene associations were independent of the background traits.

The researchers next sought to determine which variables used in the estimated life expectancy calculations were associated with the two significant genes. For DBH, one variable stood out. Those with the A1/A2 heterozygous pairings had almost twice the alcohol consumption of those with homozygous pairings (p = 0.023).

For DAT1, two variables stood out. Overall, the 9/9 pairings smoked two and a half times as much as the 10/10 pairings, with the 9/10 pairings midway between the extremes(p = 0.036). They were also 73 percent more likely to be smokers relative to the 10/10 pairings, and 61 percent more likely relative to the 9/10 pairings. They also had significantly less education than the 10/10 pairings, with the 9/10pairings again being intermediate (p = 0.027).

An obvious limitation of the study was its small sample size. The authors cautioned, “our findings should be considered quite preliminary and in need of much greater research before being given much weight in the literature or in public policy.

“With these limitations in mind,” they concluded, “the present study demonstrated that two ADHD risk genes (DBH and DAT1) independently contributed to a reduction in ELE [estimated life expectancy] beyond the second order variables of behavioral disinhibition, IQ, hostility, and nonverbal fluency that contributed in the related study to variation in ELE. The gene polymorphisms seemed to be influencing ELE through their affiliation with first-order or more proximal factors related to ELE such as education, smoking, alcohol use, and possibly exercise.”

A Dutch and German team compared the performance of 45 adults with ADHD and 51 normally developing controls on a battery of standardized tests and questionnaires designed to assess competence in financial decision-making (FDM). These were supplemented with neuropsychological tests, as well as evaluations of each participant’s personal financial situation.

The two groups had roughly comparable demographic characteristics. There were no significant differences in age, gender balance, years of education, or work status. Students were excluded from both groups because they tend to be financially dependent and to have little or no income.

The ADHD group scored more than three times higher on self-report questionnaires for both the retrospective assessment of childhood symptoms ( Wender Utah Rating Scale—Childhood) and for evaluating current symptoms of ADHD (ADHD self-report scale). Researchers did not perform clinical evaluations of ADHD.

To determine their personal financial situation, participants were asked about their income range as well as, “Do you have debts other than mortgage or study loans?”;“Do you receive social security?”; “Do you have a savings account?”;“Do you save actively, that is, do you put money in your savings account on a regular basis?”; “Do you save for retirement?”; and “Do you own a house?” They were also asked how much they set aside in monthly savings, and, where applicable, how much they receive in social security.

On five out of nine criteria, significant differences emerged between the two groups. Whereas healthy controls had median incomes in the range of €35,000 to €45,000, for those with ADHD it was dramatically lower, between €15,000 and €25,000. Healthy controls also had twice as much disposable income. Whereas almost half of adults with ADHD reported debts other than mortgage or educational loans, only a third as many healthy adults had such debt. And whereas only slightly over half of those with ADHD reported having savings accounts, among healthy adults it was more than six out of seven. Finally, healthy controls were four times as likely to own a home.

Participants were then given standardized tests to evaluate financial competence, financial decision-making capacity, financial decision styles, the ability to make financial decisions using decision rules, the capacity to make decisions with implications for the future, impulsive buying tendencies, and a gambling task as a measure of emotional decision-making.

Adults with ADHD scored significantly lower than healthy adults on the financial competence test, and in particular, on financial abilities, financial judgment, financial management, and financial support resources. Similar outcomes emerged from the financial decision-making capacity test, especially when it came to identifying and understanding relevant information. Adults with ADHD were also significantly more likely to use avoidant and spontaneous decision styles. They also showed significantly more temporal discounting, meaning they tended to prefer immediate gratification over long-term financial security. That translated into significantly higher propensities to buy on impulse. In all cases these differences had large effect sizes.

Finally, participants were tested on nine cognitive functions: information processing speed, vigilance and selective attention, inhibition, interference, figural fluency, cognitive flexibility, task switching, verbal working memory, and numeracy.

Those with ADHD performed significantly worse, with medium effect sizes, on three cognitive measures: vigilance, interference, and numeracy. There were no significant differences on the other six measures.

The authors concluded, “The results show that the personal financial situation of adults with ADHD was less optimal than the financial situation of healthy controls. Furthermore, adults with ADHD showed significantly decreased performances compared with healthy controls in five out of seven tasks measuring FDM and on measures of vigilance, interference, and numeracy. However, mediation analyses indicated that differences in cognitive functioning cannot fully explain the differences with regard to FDM between adults with ADHD and healthy controls.”

They also pointed to limitations of the study. One is that 19 of the 45 adults with ADHD had comorbid disorders, of which three were substance dependencies. However, removing them had little effect on the outcome. Another limitation was that adults with ADHD were off medication during the testing, so it is unclear how stimulants would affect the test outcomes. The authors state, “The influence of treatment use should, therefore, be explored in future research on FDM and adults with ADHD.”

Drivers with ADHD are far more likely to be involved in crashes, to be at fault in crashes,to be in severe crashes, and to be killed in crashes. The more severe the ADHD symptoms, the higher the risk. Moreover, ADHD is often accompanied by comorbid conditions such as oppositional-defiant disorder, depression, and anxiety that further increase the risk.

What can be done to reduce this risk? A group of experts has offered the following consensus recommendations:

·   Use stimulant medications. While there is no reliable evidence on whether non-stimulant medications are of any benefit for driving, there is solid evidence that stimulant medications are effective in reducing risk. But there is also a rebound effect in many individuals after the medication wears off, in which performance actually becomes worse than if had been prior to medication. It is therefore important to time the taking of medication so that its period of effectiveness corresponds with driving times. If one has to drive right after waking up, it makes sense to take a rapid acting form. The same holds for late night driving that may require a quick boost.

·   Use a stick shift vehicle wherever possible. Stick shifts make drivers pay closer attention than automatic transmissions. The benefits in alertness are most notable in city traffic. But using a stick shift is far less beneficial in highway driving, where shifting is less frequent.

·  Avoid cruise control. Highways can be monotonous, making drivers more prone to boredom and distraction. That is even more true for those with ADHD, so it is best to keep cruise control turned off.

·   Avoid alcohol. Drinking and driving is a bad idea for everyone, but, once again, it's even worse for those with ADHD. Parents should consider a no-questions-asked policy of either picking up their teenager anytime and anywhere, or setting up an account with a ride-sharing service.·   Place the smartphone out of reach and hearing. Cell phone use is as about as likely to impair as alcohol. Hands-free devices only reduce this risk moderately, because they continue to distract. Texting can be deadly. Sending a short text or emoticon can be the equivalent of driving 100 yards with one's eyes closed. Either turn on Do Not Disturb mode, or, for even greater effectiveness, place the smart phone in the trunk.

·   Make use of automotive performance monitors. These can keep track of maximum speeds and sudden acceleration and braking, to verify that a teenager is not engaging in risky behaviors.

·   Take advantage of graduated driver's licensing laws wherever available. These laws forbid the presence of peers in the vehicle for the first several (for example, six) months of driving. Parents can extend that period for teenagers with ADHD, or set it as a condition in states that lack such laws.

·  Encourage practicing after obtaining a learner's permit. Teenagers with ADHD generally require more practice than those without. A pre-drive checklist can be a good place to start. For example:check the gas, check the mirrors, make sure the view through the windows is unobstructed, put cell phone in Do Not Disturb mode and place it out of reach, put on seat belt, scan for obstacles.

·   Consider outsourcing. Look for a driving school with a professional to teach good driving skills and habits.

Experts do not agree on whether to delay licensing for those with ADHD. On the one hand, teenagers with ADHD are 3-4 years behind in the development of brain areas responsible for executive functions that help control impulses and better guide behavior. Delaying licensing can reduce risk by about 20 percent. On the other hand, teens with ADHD are more likely to drive without a license, and no one wants to encourage that, however inadvertently. Moreover, graduated driver's licensing laws only have legal effect on teens who get their licenses at the customary age.

ADHD is far more prevalent among persons with AUD (roughly 20 percent) than it is in the general population. The most accurate way of identifying ADHD is through structured clinical interviews. Given that this is not feasible in routine clinical settings, ADHD self-report scales offer a less reliable but much less resource-intensive alternative. Could the latter be calibrated in a way that would yield diagnoses that better correspond with the former?

A German team compared the outcomes of both methods on 404 adults undergoing residential treatment for AUD. All were abstinent while undergoing evaluations. First, to obtain reliable ADHD diagnoses, each underwent the Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults, DIVA. If DIVA indicated probable ADHD, two expert clinicians conducted successive follow-up interviews. ADHD was only diagnosed when both experts concurred with the DIVA outcome.

Participants were then asked to use two adult ADHD self-report scales, the six-item Adult ADHD Self Report Scale v1.1 (ASRS) and the 30-item Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS-S-SR). The outcomes were then compared with the expert interview diagnoses.

Using established cut-off values for the ASRS, less than two-thirds of patients known to have ADHD were scored as having ADHD by the test. In other words, there was a very high rate of false negatives. Lowering the cut-off to a sum score ≥ 11 resulted in a correct diagnosis of more than seven out of eight. But the rate of false positives soared to almost two in five.  Similarly, the CAARS-S-SR had its greatest sensitivity (ability to accurately identify those with ADHD) at the lowest threshold of ≥ 60, but at a similarly high cost in false positives (more than a third).

The authors found it was impossible to come anywhere near the precision of the expert clinical interviews. Nevertheless, they judged the best compromise to be to use the lowest thresholds on both tests and then require positive determinations from both. That led to successfully diagnosing more than three out of four individuals known to have ADHD, with a false positive rate of just over one in five.

Using this combination of the two self-reporting questionnaires with lower thresholds, they suggest, could substantially reduce the under-diagnosis of ADHD in alcohol-dependent patients.

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