According to a new study that some experts described as “striking”, adults diagnosed with a deficit attention disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD) could have a shorter life expectancy than those who have not received such a diagnosis.
According to the National Health Service (NHS) British, ADHD is a disorder characterized by agitation, concentration difficulties and impulsive actions, and it is most often diagnosed in children under 12 years of age.
In an unprecedented study, the researchers compared more than 30,000 British adults with ADHD to more than 300,000 people who do not suffer.
The research based on anonymous primary care files dating from between 2000 and 2019.
The study revealed that men diagnosed with a ADHD had A reduced life expectancy from 4.5 to 9 yearsand that women with a ADHD had A reduced life expectancy from 6.6 to 11 years Compared to those who had not been diagnosed.
The study was published Thursday in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
Deeply worrying
Josh Stott, principal author of the new study and aging teacher and clinical psychology at the University College London, said that it was “very worrying” that some adults with ADHD “live less than they should “.
“People with ADHD have many advantages and can flourish with adequate support and treatment. However, they often lack support and are more likely to be confronted with stressful life and exclusion events social, which has a negative impact on their health and self-esteem, “he said in a statement.
The researchers warned against the fact that the ADHD in adults is often underdiagnosedso that the study could overestimate the reductions in life expectancy, adding that other research is necessary.
-Kevin McConway, professor emeritus of statistics applied to open university in the United Kingdom, who did not participate in the study, said in a statement that research was “striking” but that it “left many questions important unanswered “.
“Even taking into account a certain statistical uncertainty, the estimated differences in life expectancy between diagnosed and not diagnosed as suffering from ADHD are rather important,” he said, adding that the important question is To know what can be done on this subject.
It depends on the question of whether ADHD is responsible for reducing life expectancy, he added, noting that the study is observational and that the “network of potentially interactive factors that might Being involved is certainly complicated “.
Necessary support and treatment
The researchers indicated in the study that the reduction in life expectancy was probably due to “modifiable risk factors and to unacratal needs in terms of support and treatment”, both for ADD and for other mental and physical disorders.
Philip ASHERSON, professor of molecular psychiatry at the King’s College of London, who did not participate in the study, added in a press release that if the precise causes of premature death are unknown, “ADHD is associated with more rates high of smoking, obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer, among other health problems “.
“ADHD is increasingly recognized as a serious disorder in adults, associated with poor health results,” he said, adding that access to diagnosis and treatment was limited.
The new study revealed, for example, that only one in 300 adults during the period studied had been diagnosed as ADHD. This represents one in nine “compared to the probable real number of people with ADHD” according to surveys, the researchers said.
“As long as this problem is not resolved, the shorter life expectancy demonstrated in this study will probably continue,” added Mr. Asherson.
