Girls from a deprived background who are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be more likely to experience multiple long-term health conditions, or multimorbidity, in adulthood, according to new research.
The study, led by the University of Glasgow, also showed that women who had both a childhood ADHD diagnosis and a background of socioeconomic deprivation were more than twice as likely to develop multimorbidity compared to those without ADHD.
The research, which looked at data from more than 120,000 women aged between 18 and 32, highlights how the effects of childhood ADHD and socioeconomic deprivation can shape long-term health outcomes for women and increase the risk of multimorbidity – defined as the presence of two or more long-term conditions.
In addition, the researchers also identified distinct clustering patterns of multimorbidity, with the most severe pattern – called pan-system multimorbidity – being characterised by a high number of both physical and complex mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder.
In contrast, women without ADHD were more likely to experience patterns of health limited to physical health conditions alone.
ADHD in females has been historically underrecognised, underdiagnosed, and undertreated and, as a result, the long-term consequences of ADHD in girls and women have been largely overlooked in both clinical practice and research.
Dr Naomi Wilson, from the University’s School of Health and Wellbeing, said: “Our findings suggest that a combination of both ADHD and socioeconomic deprivation can amplify long-term health risks, highlighting that girls with ADHD from disadvantaged backgrounds should be considered a high-risk group that require earlier, integrated care.
“The findings also show that, for women with ADHD, multimorbidity may involve complex patterns of need around mental health, which has implications for how services are delivered.
“Overall, our study shows the need for earlier identification of ADHD in girls, with targeted interventions that address both clinical and social factors to improve the long-term health outcomes for this group.”
The study, ‘Intersecting Trajectories of Childhood ADHD, Socioeconomic Deprivation, and Distinct Multimorbidity Patterns in Women,’ is published in Nature Mental Health.