ADHD Research and Statistics

Need an intro to ADHD? The most endorsed source I’ve seen is Dr. Russell Barkley’s Lecture. It’s 1.5 hours but solid level of technical depth and highly engaging.

Co-mobidities

  • Co-morbidity of ADHD and Anxiety is 25% 1
  • Adult ADHD is significantly comorbid with anxiety disorders (up to 25%) and major depression (5-20%) 2
  • oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) are the most prevalent comorbid conditions, substance use disorders (SUDs) become more and more of a problem during adolescence and even more so in adulthood 2
  • About 60 percent of children with ADHD in the United States become adults with ADHD; that’s about 4 percent of the adult population, or 8 million adults. 3
  • Less than 20 percent of adults with ADHD have been diagnosed or treated, and only about one-quarter of those adults seek help. 3

Prevalence

  • ADHD prevalence in children aged 18 and under found an overall pooled estimate of 7.2% 4
  • 5% of children and 2.5% of adults with little geographic or cross-cultural variation 5

Hereditary

  • Home environment doesn’t cause it, genetics does: Studies on twins raised in different households show that If one twin has ADHD, 74% chance the other twin has it. Make clear that . 6
  • 25 percent of the parents of kids we diagnose are going to have it 7 - Need a better source
  • Studies show that if you (the parent) have ADHD, your children have about a 35% chance of acquiring it; if a child has it, there is a 50% likelihood that one of his or her parents does as well.
  • ADHD occurrence for mothers of children with ADHD was 41.3%, for fathers 51.0% 8

Risks

  • In Young adults (aged 16-26), having “childhood ADHD predicted earlier initiation of sexual activity and intercourse, more sexual partners, more casual sex, and more partner pregnancies.” 9
  • A meta-analysis of cohort studies confirmed that childhood ADHD significantly increases the risk for nicotine use in middle adolescence (OR: 2.36, 1.71–3.27) and the risk for alcohol use disorder during young adulthood 2

If you find incorrect summaries, or have better research articles, please reach out and I will be pleased to update this doc: jevin@quickjack.ca.

  1. Comorbidity between ADHD and anxiety disorders across the lifespan - PubMed ↩︎

  2. Live fast, die young? A review on the developmental trajectories of ADHD across the lifespan ↩︎

  3. Adult ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA ↩︎

  4. General Prevalence of ADHD - CHADD ↩︎

  5. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder | Nature Reviews Disease Primers ↩︎

  6. Genetics of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder | Molecular Psychiatry ↩︎

  7. When Parent and Child Both Have ADHD - Child Mind Institute ↩︎

  8. Occurrence of ADHD in parents of ADHD children in a clinical sample ↩︎

  9. Childhood ADHD Predicts Risky Sexual Behavior in Young Adulthood: Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology: Vol 35, No 4 ↩︎