The Dietary Status of Adults With ADHD

Abstract

Objective

The aim was to investigate the dietary status of adults with ADHD. Furthermore, we compared the group with a representative sample of a healthy adult Danish population.

Method

Data were collected from the ADHD database operated by the ADHD outpatient clinic at Aarhus university hospital. We used data from newly referred patients in a seven months period from April 2014 through October 2014. The collected data include weight, height, blood pressure, somatic or psychiatric co-morbidity, blood sample, physical activity scale. Concerning the diagnosis of ADHD: DIVA, ASRS, BRIEF-V. Inter99 was used to assess the dietary status. The representative sample was obtained as a part of a public health survey from 2010 called “how are you” conducted in the same region of Denmark as the location of the psychiatric hospital. Preliminary results, one hundred and forty-three patients were included in the study, 52% males. The mean age was 30.9 years. A larger proportion of ADHD patients fall in the category “unhealthy dietary pattern” compared to the representative sample population (26% vs. 12%), while the proportion in the “healthy dietary pattern” category is markedly lower (14% vs. 24%). The differences seem to be explained by lower than recommended intakes of fruits and vegetables.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest a general shift towards more unhealthy dietary patterns among patients with ADHD. This exposes them to higher risk of somatic diseases, notably diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Lifestyle interventions could be a necessary part of standard treatment for patients with ADHD.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.