Adults with ADHD may live shorter lives, world-first study finds

Adults diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have a shorter life expectancy than those without such a diagnosis, according to a new study that some experts have called “striking”.

ADHD is a condition characterised by restlessness, difficulties with concentration, and acting on impulse, according to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), with it most often diagnosed in children under the age of 12.

In a world-first study, researchers compared more than 30,000 adults in the UK with ADHD to more than 300,000 people without it.

The research was based on anonymised primary care records from between 2000 and 2019.

The study found that men diagnosed with ADHD had a life expectancy that was reduced by between 4.5 and 9 years, and women with ADHD had their life expectancy reduced by between 6.6 to 11 years compared to those without a diagnosis.

The study was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry on Thursday.

‘Deeply concerning’

Josh Stott, senior author of the new research and a professor of ageing and clinical psychology at University College London, said it was “deeply concerning” that some adults with ADHD “are living shorter lives than they should”.

“People with ADHD have many strengths and can thrive with the right support and treatment. However, they often lack support and are more likely to experience stressful life events and social exclusion, negatively impacting their health and self-esteem,” he said in a statement.

The researchers cautioned that ADHD in adults is often underdiagnosed, so the study may overestimate the life expectancy reductions, adding that more research is needed.

Kevin McConway, an emeritus professor of applied statistics at the Open University in the UK, who was not involved in the study, said in a statement that the research was “striking” but that it “leaves many important questions unanswered”.

“Even allowing for some statistical uncertainty, the estimated differences in life expectancy between people diagnosed and not diagnosed with ADHD are rather large,” he said, adding that the important question is what can be done about it.

This depends on whether ADHD caused the reductions in life expectancy, he said, noting that the study is observational and that the “web of potentially interacting factors that might be involved is certain to be complicated”.

Support and treatment needed

The researchers said in the study that the reduced life expectancies were likely caused by “modifiable risk factors and unmet support and treatment needs” of both ADHD and other mental and physical health conditions.

Philip Asherson, a professor of molecular psychiatry at King’s College London who was not involved in the study, added in a statement that while the precise causes of early death are unknown, “ADHD is associated with higher rates of smoking, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer among other health problems”.

“ADHD is increasingly recognised as a serious condition in adults associated with poor health outcomes,” he said, adding, however, that there is limited access to diagnosis and treatment for it.

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The new study found, for instance, that just one in 300 adults across the period they studied had an ADHD diagnosis. This represented one in nine “of the likely true number of people with ADHD” based on surveys, the researchers said.

“Until this is addressed, the shorter life expectancy demonstrated in this study is likely to continue,” Asherson added.