Adult ADHD: An Under-Diagnosed Condition

Abstract

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs executive functions, leads to maladaptive behavior and, in about 50%, has a livelong persistence. Nevertheless, adult ADHD is a very much under-diagnosed condition.

We conducted a study aimed to identify ADHD in a special population of adults. Questionnaires were applied to the parents of children attending CADIn, a Clinical Centre for Developmental Disorders for evaluation or intervention (48% of their children were diagnosed as having ADHD and 22% were diagnosed as having Pervasive Developmental Disorder). We expected a higher incidence of ADHD in this population as well as a better awareness for the condition.

We used the Adult ADHD Self-report Scale (ASRS-v1.1) and the questionnaires contained questions concerning degree of impairment, persistence of symptoms and comorbid psychiatric conditions. 114 parents were inquired, 29% fathers, 68% mothers 3% missed gender. 17% of the parents quoted above the cut-off-point for the ASRS-v1.1 screener and amongst those, 45% referred the ADHD symptoms as causing them severe impairment. Only 3 subjects had been previously diagnosed as ADHD. The prevalence of ADHD symptoms was similar for males and females. 56% of the ADHD population was diagnosed formerly as suffering from psychiatric disorder, compared to 35% of the total population. The more common diagnoses were depression (45%) and anxiety (30%).

We conclude that ADHD is much under-diagnosed in the adult population. Considering its high heritability, a closer evaluation of the parents of children diagnosed with ADHD is suggested.