How ADHD is Linked to Serious Mental Health Issues?

The attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is an independent risk factor for major mental health issues such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, and suicide attempts, according to research published in the journal BMJ Mental Health (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Understanding the causal relationships of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with mental disorders and suicide attempt: a network Mendelian randomisation study

Go to source). The researchers from the University of Augsburg in Germany recommended health professionals to be vigilant in a bid to ward off these disorders later on.

ADHD: A Potential Risk Factor for Mental Health Problems

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition in children and teenagers that extends into adulthood in up to around two-thirds of cases. Worldwide, its prevalence is estimated to be around 5 percent in children/teenagers and 2.5 percent in adults.

ADHD has been linked to mood and anxiety disorders in observational studies, but it’s not known if it’s causally associated with other mental ill health.

The team aimed to establish potential links between ADHD and the seven disorders: major clinical depression; bipolar disorder; anxiety disorder; schizophrenia; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); anorexia nervosa; and at least one suicide attempt.

The team found "no evidence for a causal link between ADHD and bipolar disorder, anxiety, or schizophrenia". "But there was evidence for a causal link with a heightened risk of anorexia nervosa (28 percent) and evidence that ADHD both caused (9 percent heightened risk) and was caused by (76 percent heightened risk) major clinical depression. "

And after adjusting for the influence of major depression, a direct causal association with both suicide attempt (30 percent heightened risk) and PTSD (18 percent heightened risk) emerged," the researchers said.

"This study opens new insights into the paths between psychiatric disorders. Thus, in clinical practice, patients with ADHD should be monitored for the psychiatric disorders included in this study and preventive measures should be initiated if necessary," they said in the paper.

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Reference:

1. Understanding the causal relationships of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with mental disorders and suicide attempt: a network Mendelian randomisation study - (https://mentalhealth.bmj.com/content/26/1/e300642)

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