However, these guidelines are so new that many specialists working in psychiatric facilities are still unaware, hence the lack of experience with proper diagnosis and treatment of these people.How common is ADHD in adults?The authors of studies involving children diagnosed with the syndrome noted that the disorder persists in adolescence and adulthood in about 2/3 of people.
It may then have a full-blown character (all the basic ADHD symptoms are present) or the so-called “partial remission” state (only some symptoms are present, but lead to a deterioration in the functionalnowanie). Sometimes there is an apparent reduction in the severity of the symptoms of this syndrome during adolescence, but in such cases these people cope worse in everyday life than their healthy peers in a well-matched control population.
This is due to the fact that, in addition to changes occurring in adolescent ADHD patients, parallel changes occur among healthy people of their age. As a result, the actual and statistically significant differences remain between these groups.What are the risk factors for persistence of ADHD in adulthood?The results of many studies have identified the factors occurring in childhood that indicate the risk of persistence of ADHD in adulthood.
They are:mixed ADHD subtype in childhood,family history of this disorder,high intensity of symptoms,comorbid depression and other mental disorders,unfavorable social situation,psychopathological symptoms occurring in parents.What is the prevalence of ADHD in adults?Research results indicate that the prevalence of ADHD in adults is 2–5%. The familial occurrence of ADHD symptoms is due to genetic factors rather than the presence of environmental risk factors, indicating that the syndrome is a lifelong condition.
Presumably, this percentage may be higher in certain populations, for those in the care of forensic psychiatric, addiction and personality disorder care facilities.Another important problem is the recognition of this syndrome in parents of children with ADHD; it turns out that about 20% of these people also suffer from this disorder. This is important as these parents may have difficulty implementing parenting strategies used in their children’s behavioral therapy.