More Evidence That ADHD Needs to Be Treated into Adulthood.
Increasing evidence suggests that children with ADHD do better with treatment throughout their life. A new study published in the Archives Journal of Psychiatry followed nearly 300 boys living in New York City for 33 years. The men with ADHD were recruited and joined at childhood by their teacher or a doctor. During this long-term study, the group with ADHD were compared to children turned men who were not thought to have ADHD.
The study yielded dramatic difference between the groups. The men with ADHD were seven times more likely to drop out of school and made approximately $40,000 less than those without ADHD. They had higher rates of divorce and higher rates of personality disorders. About 36% of the group had gone to prison at least once. This compared to only 11% in the non-ADHD group.
Previous studies have determined similar results. The most notable previous study was conducted by Russell Barkley. This is the most recent study to come to a similar picture. The most recent study comparing a group of adults with ADHD to a peer group without ADHD has met with some controversy. The results, published in Archives of General Psychiatry, show that of 300 boys turned men followed the group with ADHD faired far less well. They made less money and were seven times more likely to drop out of school than their non-ADHD and ADHD treatment.
Some analysts believe that the groups should have been better designed, and that the group of non-ADHD boys might have included kids with learning disabilities and substance abuse histories. Nonetheless, this is a powerful study again suggesting that ADHD causes pervasive issues into adulthood, and that again, to stress that this condition needed to be treated as children grow.
There are a number of treatment options available, and all the experts recommend individual care is of utmost importance.
