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Meta-Analysis
. 1996 Sep;153(9):1143-6.
doi: 10.1176/ajp.153.9.1143.

Age-dependent decline of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

J C Hill  1 , E P Schoener
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Age-dependent decline of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

J C Hill et al. Am J Psychiatry. 1996 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: This study was undertaken to assess whether the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is retained from childhood into adulthood.

Method: A search of the literature yielded nine prospective studies in which cohorts of children with the disorder were formed and then reexamined 4-16 years later to determine the level of retained ADHD. The resulting data were subjected to nonlinear regression analysis to ascertain the relationship with chronological age.

Results: The data followed an exponential decline over time to a high degree of accuracy.

Conclusions: The rate of ADHD in a given age group appears to decline by 50% approximately every 5 years. If a prevalence of ADHD in childhood of 4% is assumed and the exponential decline extrapolated, the estimated rate of adult ADHD ranges from about 0.8% at age 20 to 0.05% at age 40.

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Comment in

  • Advancing age, declining ADHD.
    Barkley RA. Barkley RA. Am J Psychiatry. 1997 Sep;154(9):1323-5. doi: 10.1176/ajp.154.9.1323b. Am J Psychiatry. 1997. PMID: 9286210 No abstract available.

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