Self-evaluated burden in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a pilot study

Abstract

objectives: To investigate feasibility and easiness of administration of a brief and simple instrument addressing impairment associated with adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and if ADHD subtypes were correlated to specific profiles of self-reported impairment. methods: Thirty-five adults (19 men and 16 women; mean age of 31.74 years) diagnosed with ADHD according to DSM-IV with a semi-structured interview (K-SADS PL) were asked to fill out a Likert scale covering six different functional areas (academic, professional, marital, familiar, social and daily activities). Clinicians questioned patients about their understanding of the questionnaire and investigated their answers in more details to check consistency of their answers. results: No patient reported difficulties in understanding the questionnaire. Further questioning of patients' answers confirmed their choices in the six areas. Academic burden had the highest average score in the whole sample, followed by professional burden. Social area had the lowest average score in this sample. (acadêmica, profissional, marital, familiar, social resumo Objetivos: Investigar a viabilidade e facilidade de administração de instrumento simples e breve de avaliação de comprometimento em adultos com transtorno do déficit de atenção e hiperatividade e se os subtipos de TDAH se correlacionam com perfis específicos de comprometimento autoavaliado. Métodos: Trinta e cinco adultos (19 homens e 16 mulheres, idade média de 31,74 anos) diagnosticados com TDAH com entrevista semiestruturada (K-SADS) utilizando os critérios da DSM-IV foram solicitados a preencher uma escala tipo Likert cobrindo seis diferentes áreas do funcionamento

Quantitative measurement of impairment in ADHD: perspectives for research and clinical practice

“…Such domains are the ones identified by our group previously, regarding self-evaluated burden 29 and also quality of life, a similar and somewhat overlapping dimension 30 ; those results seem to be in accordance to data from other countries as well 31 . The listed domains in our instrument are in accordance to the results from research with children and adolescents both in Brazil as well in other countries 9,32 .…”

By the book: ADHD prevalence in medical students varies with analogous methods of addressing DSM items

“…We extensively investigated childhood symptoms during the interview, choosing to use a conservative criterion of at least five past symptoms in any domain for a positive childhood diagnosis. Impairment was assessed by clinical investigation of different areas of functioning previously shown to be impaired in similar Brazilian samples12,13 “immediately after” investigating ADHD symptoms and before investigating for comorbidities. This procedure aimed to minimize the difficult distinction between ADHD-associated impairments and those associated with highly frequent comorbid conditions; if impairment is addressed at the end of a long investigation of ADHD and comorbid disorders, patients often have difficulties in ascertaining its causes 14…”