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 ↩︎