Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is defined by the association between attention deficit, motor hyperactivity and impulsivity.
- Researchers have found in a new study that women with ADHD are diagnosed at an average age of 23.5 years, compared to 19.6 years for men.
- The results also showed that psychiatric comorbidity was more common in women living with ADHD.
- Researchers also reported a preponderance of drug treatments among women.
A new study shows that women with ADHD experience a much longer medical wandering than men.
Led by Charlotte Skoglund of Uppsala University in Sweden, a group of scientists conducted a study of 85,330 people with ADHD, all living in Stockholm County, to reach this conclusion. These individuals were matched with 426,626 controls without any such disorder.
ADHD: Women are diagnosed around age 23
After statistical analysis, the researchers found that women with ADHD were diagnosed at an average age of 23.5 years compared to 19.6 years for men.
Furthermore, the results showed that psychiatric comorbidity was more frequent in this type of patient: “Women with ADHD were about twice as likely as men with ADHD to be diagnosed with anxiety disorders (50.4% vs. 25.9%) and mood disorders (37.5% vs. 19.5%).”the report said.
Charlotte Skoglund and her colleagues also reported a preponderance of drug treatments in women: “Five years before their ADHD diagnosis, women used anticonvulsants, neuroleptics, sedatives, hypnotics and psychoanaleptics more than men,” they write, specifying that this trend was still present two years after the official identification of the disorder.
Finally, women with ADHD were more likely than men with ADHD to receive psychiatric care throughout the study period (in hospital or on an outpatient basis, editor’s note).
“Early diagnosis and treatment of ADHD is important”
In light of all this new data, the researchers point out that “Early diagnosis and treatment of ADHD are important to reduce the risks of mortality and impaired quality of life specific to this type of patient.”
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is defined by the association, in varying ways, between attention deficit, motor hyperactivity and impulsivity. It appears during childhood and its causes remain, to this day, unknown.
The prevalence of ADHD in France is subject to debate. “According to our study, the prevalence of hyperactivity/ADHD in France can be estimated at 0.3% of school-age children, with 0.2% for the prescription of psychostimulants,” explained in 2020 to Release Sébastien Ponnou, psychoanalyst and lecturer at the University of Rouen-Normandy. “These data are particularly robust because they are based on the reality of clinical practices and on doctors’ prescriptions for the entire population,” he said at the time.
For his part, the HAS estimates on its site that “3.5 to 5.6% of school children suffer from ADHD in France. In adults, the prevalence of ADHD has been estimated at between 2.5% and 2.9%.”
