In France, between 3% and 5% of primary school children have attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
This neurodevelopmental disorder affects approximately 3 boys for every 1 girl: it manifests itself in difficulty concentrating on a task for more than a few minutes, permanent agitation and verbal and motor impulsiveness. The so-called “hyperactive” children are “head in the air”, “fiery”, “do not listen to instructions”, “climb everywhere”…
According to a new study conducted by the University of Utah Health (in the United States), children who suffer from hyperactivity would, on average, have a greater risk than others of developing Parkinson’s disease early – that is, say before the age of 50.
To reach this conclusion, the American researchers analyzed medical data on 31,769 ADHD patients and 158,790 patients without ADHD, born between 1950 and 1992 in the United States.
An even higher risk in children on Ritalin
Verdict? According to the scientists, patients who were diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder during childhood were about twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease between the ages of 20 and 66. Worse: in patients diagnosed with ADHD and placed on drug treatment (Ritalin, for example), the risk was 6 to 8 times higher than average.
“Out of a group of 100,000 adults, we estimate that within a year, 1 to 2 people will develop Parkinson’s disease early on,” explains Dr. Karen Curtis, lead author of this work. In contrast, out of a group of 100,000 ADHD adults on methylphenidate drug treatment, we estimate that within a year, 8-9 people will develop ADHD before they are even 50 years old. ” Scary !
This work has been published in the specialized journal Neuropsychopharmacology.
Read also :
Calcium implicated in Parkinson’s disease
Stem cells: a hope of treatment for Parkinson’s
Parkinson’s: received ideas about the disease
