Few long-term follow-up studies have been conducted on adults with ADHD. This study, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, focuses on the five-year outcomes of individuals diagnosed with ADHD as adults and receiving routine psychiatric care. The study relied on a group of 52 patients with ADHD along with a control group consisting of 73 individuals.
Each group was assessed at baseline and subsequently five years later. Several different scales were used to evaluate the participants, including the Global Assessment of Functioning, Clinical Global Impression, Brown ADD Scale, and Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale. Multivariate regression was used to identify predictive factors of five-year outcomes, including baseline ratings, comorbidity, intelligence quotient, age, sex, and medication intensity.
After five years, the researchers found that the adults with ADHD exhibited diminished symptoms compared to their baseline assessment. However, they still showed clinically significant symptoms and functional deficits. Low baseline functioning level predicted improved functioning after five years. The predictive factors of comorbidity, intelligence quotient, age, sex, and medication intensity were not found to affect long-term outcomes [1].
Source:
[1] Nylander, E., Floros, O., Sparding, T., Rydén, E., Hansen, S., & Landén, M. (2020). Five‐year outcomes of ADHD diagnosed in adulthood. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 62(1), 13–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.12692
