A recent study published in Pediatrics has a couple of potentially interesting conclusions. The first conclusion is that ADD from childhood often persists into adulthood. That isn’t news to anyone who reads this website, but you know me, I like my knowledge backed up by published science. The researchers used a sample of 5,700+ children associated with the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and found 367 were diagnosed with ADHD as children. They then followed up with that same pool as adults when they were approximately 29 years old. 232 of the original pool allowed access to their medical records.
ADHD Continues into Adulthood
The researchers found that approximately 30 percent of the adults who were diagnosed with ADD as children continue to have ADD as adults. In other words, about a third of children diagnosed with ADHD as kids will still have ADHD as adults. That isn’t new information. Most of us ADDers on here know all too well that ADD doesn’t necessarily go away once you turn 18 years old, despite the fact that health insurance companies like to stop covering it then.
The percentage is a new confirmation of just how many adults who had ADD as kids end up with it in adulthood as well.
ADD May Have Higher Suicide Risk and Other Risks
Another interesting tidbit of this particular study is statistically valid finding of a higher incidence of suicide in the population of people diagnosed with ADD as children. Before anyone goes and freaks out, the raw numbers aren’t quite as scary. Out of the 367 people in the study who were diagnosed with ADHD as children, three of them had committed suicide by the time the study was done. In contrast, 7 people in the larger pool of nearly 5,000 non-ADD participants committed suicide. While statistically relevant, it does NOT suggest that people with ADHD are doomed in anyway.
Also not new information, was the finding that people diagnosed with ADHD have a higher incidence of other mental health issues. Called co-morbid indicators for ADD, these other mental health issues most commonly included depression and alcoholism.
What was new information for me was that these higher incidences of metal health problems were also indicated for the population that had ADD as children, but did not continue to have ADD as adults. This may feed into the thought that ADD is a smaller subset of a larger, as of yet, not understood mechanism acting within the brain.
As always, the key is to get the help you need when you need it and then adjust your life accordingly. There is always plenty to enjoy in life no matter who you are. Play to your strengths, and pursue your interests. You’ll still forget stuff and leave important things laying around, but you’ll have plenty of fun along the way.
Thanks, Dawn. See, that’s the thing. A person relaly doesn’t have ADD it’s not a germ or disease. It’s basically a label given to a set of behaviors such as high energy, lots of movement, interested in many things, etc that don’t fit very well in a regular classroom. In fact, the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders lists it as a disorder, and most of the description has to do with classroom behaviors. Basically, it’s a disorder of not conforming to a classroom!