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Is adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder a valid diagnosis in the presence of high IQ?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 December 2008

K. M. Antshel ,
S. V. Faraone ,
K. Maglione ,
A. Doyle ,
R. Fried ,
L. Seidman  and
J. Biederman
K. M. Antshel
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
S. V. Faraone*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
K. Maglione
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
A. Doyle
Affiliation:
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
R. Fried
Affiliation:
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
L. Seidman
Affiliation:
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
J. Biederman
Affiliation:
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: S. V. Faraone, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

Because the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in higher education settings is rapidly becoming a contentious issue, particularly among patients with high IQs, we sought to assess the validity of diagnosing ADHD in high-IQ adults and to further characterize the clinical features associated with their ADHD.

Method

We operationalized high IQ as having a full-scale IQ⩾120. We identified 53 adults with a high IQ who did not have ADHD and 64 adults with a high IQ who met diagnostic criteria for ADHD. Groups did not differ on IQ, socio-economic status or gender.

Results

High-IQ adults with ADHD reported a lower quality of life, had poorer familial and occupational functioning, and had more functional impairments, including more speeding tickets, accidents and arrests. Major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder diagnoses were higher in high-IQ adults with ADHD. All other psychiatric co-morbidities, including antisocial personality disorder and substance abuse, did not differ between the two high-IQ groups. ADHD was more prevalent in first-degree relatives of adults with ADHD relative to controls.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that adults with ADHD and a high IQ display patterns of functional impairments, familiality and psychiatric co-morbidities that parallel those found in the average-IQ adult ADHD population.

Keywords

ADHDimpairmentintelligentIQ
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 39 , Issue 8 , August 2009 , pp. 1325 - 1335
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Cambridge University Press

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