Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults
- Timothy E. Wilens, MD;
- Stephen V. Faraone, PhD;
- Joseph Biederman, MD
- Author Affiliations: Clinical Research Program in Pediatric Psychopharmacology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass (Drs Wilens, Faraone, and Biederman), Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Mass (Dr Faraone).
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity
- contempo updates: linking evidence and experience (torpy jm, ed)
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent disorder estimated to affect 3% to 9% of school-aged children and approximately 4% of adults worldwide.1-3 Although in the past it was thought that ADHD did not continue beyond adolescence, long-term controlled follow-up studies have shown that the disorder persists in a sizable number of adults who had been diagnosed as having ADHD in childhood.4
Longitudinal studies in ADHD youth show that symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity may decay, but inattention tends to persist.5 Studies of clinically referred adults with ADHD show that about half have clinically important levels of hyperactivity and impulsivity and up to 90% have prominent attentional symptoms.6 Like some youth with ADHD, adults with ADHD tend to have additional cognitive deficits, specifically executive function deficits, which include problems encoding and manipulating information and difficulties with organization and time management.7
Adults with ADHD typically …
