New Study Claims Only 10% Of Kids With ADHD Outgrow It As Adults

News: Contrary to a popular notion, most children with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) do not outgrow the disorder. ADHD manifests itself in adulthood in different ways and waxes and wanes over a lifetime, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine/UW Medicine followed a group of 558 children with ADHD for 16 years — from 8-years old to 25 years old. This cohort study includes 8 assessments, every two years, to identify symptoms of ADHD. Some information was also collected from family members and teachers.

The data collected from tracking hundreds of kids confirm that kids will often continue to be plagued by ADHD symptoms as adults. Only about 1 in 10 kids with ADHD are likely to have a full and lasting remission of their symptoms. Rest may have ADHD symptoms fade in and out as kids grow to teens to adults, according to lead researcher Margaret Sibley. These findings contradict earlier research data that estimates 50% ADHD children could be expected to recover completely from the disorder.

“Earlier studies didn’t necessarily look at whether someone still had ADHD-like tendencies, even if they technically no longer met criteria” for a diagnosis of ADHD, Sibley said. “You can be one symptom short, but still look like you pretty much have ADHD.”

The findings suggest physicians who work with adults to become comfortable monitor the ADHD symptoms, become comfortable screening for treating ADHD. Also, parents should help their children proactively manage their symptoms. When these kids reach adulthood they can find jobs or life passions that ADHD doesn’t interfere with.

To know more, You May Refer To:

Sibley, M. H., Arnold, L. E., Swanson, J. M., Hechtman, L. T., Kennedy, T. M., Owens, E., Molina, B. S., Jensen, P. S., Hinshaw, S. P., Roy, A., Chronis-Tuscano, A., Newcorn, J. H., & Rohde, L. A. (2021). Variable patterns of remission from ADHD in the multimodal treatment study of ADHD. American Journal of Psychiatry, appi.ajp.2021.2. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2021.21010032