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. 2024 Feb;274(1):59-70.
doi: 10.1007/s00406-022-01531-4. Epub 2022 Dec 9.

The course of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder through midlife

Eugenio Horacio Grevet #  1   2   3   4 , Cibele Edom Bandeira #  4   5 , Eduardo Schneider Vitola  2   4 , Maria Eduarda de Araujo Tavares  4   5 , Vitor Breda  2   4 , Gregory Zeni  2   4 , Stefania Pigatto Teche  2   4 , Felipe Almeida Picon  2   4 , Carlos Alberto Iglesias Salgado  2   4 , Rafael Gomes Karam  4   5 , Bruna Santos da Silva  4   6   5 , Margaret H Sibley  7 , Luis Augusto Rohde  1   2   3   4 , Renata Basso Cupertino  4   5 , Diego Luiz Rovaris  4   8 , Claiton Henrique Dotto Bau  9   10   11   12   13
Affiliations

The course of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder through midlife

Eugenio Horacio Grevet et al. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2024 Feb.

Abstract

The course of ADHD from childhood up to young adulthood has been characterized in several studies. However, little is known about the course of symptoms into middle age and beyond. This study aims to evaluate predictors of ADHD trajectories in midlife based on three assessments. The follow-up sample comprised 323 adults with ADHD, evaluated at baseline and seven and thirteen years later, from the average ages of 34 up to 47 years old. ADHD status at reassessments was used to characterize trajectories. Demographics, ADHD features, comorbidities, and polygenic scores for ADHD and genetically correlated psychiatric disorders were evaluated to predict ADHD trajectories. Study retention rate was 67% at T2 (n = 216) and 62% at T3 (n = 199). Data from patients evaluated three times showed that 68.8% coursed stable, 25.5% unstable, and 5.7% remission trajectory of ADHD. Women, individuals with more severe syndromes, higher frequency of comorbidities at reassessments, and genetic liability to depression present a higher probability of a stable trajectory. Our findings shed light on midlife ADHD trajectories and their gender, genomic and clinical correlates.

Keywords: Adults; Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder; Clinical follow-up; PRS; Trajectories.

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