People with ADHD live shorter lives, study finds

As if attention deficit hyperactivity disorder isn’t bad enough: New research out this week suggests that people with ADHD live shorter lives than expected.

Scientists from University College London in England conducted a study comparing the health records of similar people with and without ADHD. They found that people with ADHD get sick and die more quickly than their counterparts. According to the researchers, the findings suggest that those in this situation often do not get the support they need.

ADHD is a complex disorder characterized by symptoms such as anxiety, impulsivity, and especially difficulty maintaining attention to daily tasks. The condition is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, such as exposure to lead or other toxins early in life. ADHD first appears in childhood, but many people are only diagnosed as adults or never diagnosed. Although the condition usually does not improve with age, a person’s symptoms may change as they age.

People with ADHD are known to have a higher risk of other health problems, such as insomnia good enough sleep and substance use problems; they are also more likely to experience stressful life events such as long-term unemployment. There are some studies also suggested People with ADHD are more likely to die earlier than the general population. However, the scientists behind the new study argue that not enough previous work has been done to measure the impact of ADHD on people’s life expectancy.

Hence the new study. Researchers analyzed primary care records of nearly 30,000 UK adults diagnosed with ADHD. These people were compared to a larger group of residents who did not have ADHD but were similar in terms of age, sex, and attending physicians.

Researchers have found that people with ADHD are more likely to have a variety of common physical and mental health conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety and depression. They had higher mortality rates in different age groups seen in both men and women. Overall, the researchers estimated that diagnosed ADHD was associated with a reduction of 6.78 years for men and 8.64 years for women.

“Evidence that people diagnosed with ADHD are living shorter lives than they should be is extremely disturbing and highlights unmet support needs that require urgent attention,” the researchers wrote in their paper. has been published on Thursday British Journal of Psychiatry.

The researchers note that they were only able to study people diagnosed with ADHD, which is likely low. Only about 0.32% of people in their sample were diagnosed with ADHD, while other studies suggest that about 3% of the population has it. According to researchers, people diagnosed with ADHD are more likely to have other health problems than undiagnosed cases. This gap may mean that they are overestimating the damage that ADHD generally does to people’s lifespan. The researchers also didn’t have data on the specific causes of death in people, so this study can’t tell us exactly how ADHD increases people’s risk of early death.

According to the authors, it is clear that people with ADHD face unique health and social challenges, and that not enough is being done to diagnose and help people with ADHD as early as possible.

“It is critical that we find the causes of premature deaths so that we can develop strategies to prevent them in the future,” said lead researcher Liz O’Nions. statement from UCL.