The prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities in adult ADHD compared with non-ADHD populations: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Comorbid psychiatric disorders in adults with ADHD are important because these comorbidities might complicate the diagnosis of ADHD and also worsen the prognosis. However, the prevalence of comorbid psychiatric disorders in adult ADHD varies according to the diagnostic tools used and the characteristics of target populations. The purpose of this review was to describe the prevalence of comorbid psychiatric disorders in adults with ADHD compared with adults without ADHD. Thirty-two studies published before August 2022 were identified and classified according to diagnosis of other psychiatric disorder in those with ADHD. The most frequent comorbid psychiatric disorder in the ADHD group was substance use disorder (SUD), followed by mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and personality disorders. The prevalence of these four disorders was higher in the ADHD group, whether or not subjects were diagnosed with other psychiatric disorders. In addition, the diversity of ADHD diagnostic tools was observed. This also might have affected the variability in prevalence of comorbidities. Standardization of ADHD diagnostic tools is necessary in the future.

Mental Health in Emerging Adults With ADHD and/or Specific Learning Disabilities: A Scoping Review

“…Of those that differentiated between ADHD subtypes ( n = 8; 17%) , half found differences between the groups ( n = 4; Anastopoulos et al, 2018; Canu et al, 2014; Hinshaw et al, 2012 Swanson et al, 2014) while the other half did not ( n = 4; Anastopoulos et al, 2021; Landberg et al, 2014; Miller et al, 2012; Nelson, 2013). In addition, only two studies had a primary focus or research question aimed at comparing an ADHD-only sample with a sample with ADHD and a previously diagnosed comorbidity, despite an 80% prevalence of comorbid psychiatric disorders among adults with ADHD (Choi et al, 2022). Of these two studies, one explored comorbid anxiety and depression (Strand, 2016), and the other examined those with comorbid bipolar disorder (Biederman et al, 2014).…”

The Association Between Lipedema and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

“…It is also worth noting that individuals with ADHD are at increased risk of comorbid mental health disorders, including mood and anxiety disorders [ 19 ]. Anxiety is reported in 61.3% of lipedema patients and depression in 38.7% [ 1 ].…”

Assessment of goal-directed behavior and prospective memory in adult ADHD with an online 3D videogame simulating everyday tasks

“…However, after prescreening 855 ADHD participants, we relaxed the CCSM criteria for the ADHD participants to obtain a sufficient sample size in the ADHD group. The observed amount of comorbid symptoms was not surprising considering the commonness of mild mood and anxiety symptoms in ADHD adults (Choi et al 2022), with roughly 77 % of individuals having one or more comorbid disorders (Sobanski et al, 2007). The updated criteria were: suicidality score less than 2 (i.e., at most slight symptoms), and depression and anxiety scores less than 4 (i.e., at most moderate symptoms).…”

“…According to some sources, only about half of the neuropsychological studies report clear cognitive deficits in ADHD adults (Seidman, 2006; see also Doyle et al, 2000;Nigg et al, 2005). Besides heterogeneity in the symptoms and mismatch between real-life problems and isolated tasks, detection of adult ADHD is complicated by the high prevalence of various comorbid disorders such as mood disorders (Choi et al, 2022), which also appear to be different between females and males (Gaub & Carlson, 1997; see also Hinshaw et al, 2022). Moreover, there is evidence that the core ADHD symptoms in males are more noticeable and easier to detect than in females (Gershon et al, 2016).…”