ADHD Research and News: Latest News

August 28, 2024Peer acceptance, a sense of self-efficacy, and a stress-is-enhancing mindset are strong predictors of resilience in older teens with ADHD, according to a small longitudinal study published in Child Psychiatry & Human Development.1The study, which followed 113 adolescents with ADHD from 10th to 12th grade, found that higher levels of peer acceptance, self-efficacy, and a growth mindset in 10th or 11th grade predicted higher levels of resilience 1.5 to 2 years later.Participants from the present study were assessed at three points:Peer acceptance at the start of the study explained 24% of the variance in resilience at follow-up. Teens with less severe ADHD symptoms were significantly more likely to report feelings of peer acceptance.Resilience was measured using the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), which asked teens to measure their agreement with statements such as “I tend to bounce back quickly after hard times” and “I take a long time to get over setbacks in my life.”Self-efficacy mediated the relationship between peer acceptance and resilience, accounting for 39% of the variance in resilience at follow-up.“Greater self-efficacy has been associated with positive outcomes for children and adolescents with ADHD, including lower levels of depression and internalizing symptoms, and reported higher quality of life,” wrote Elizabeth Chan, lead author of the study.Though ADHD symptom severity did not change the positive effect of self-efficacy on resilience, existing research shows that ADHD symptoms can negatively impact self-esteem.A stress-is-enhancing mindset accounted for 31% of the variance in resilience.

September 30, 2024ADHD and dyslexia share 174 genes and 49 genetic regions, according to a new study published in Molecular Psychiatry. The findings suggest that ADHD more closely resembles a learning difference than a psychiatric disorder.1Led by a team of researchers from the University of Edinburgh, UK, the study aimed to find common genes underlying dyslexia and 10 neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions, including ADHD, autism, anorexia nervosa, anxiety, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and Tourette syndrome.The researchers identified five genetically linked clusters, known as latent genomic factors, that revealed ADHD to be more significantly associated with attention and learning issues than it is with neurodevelopmental conditions, such as autism and Tourette syndrome.Further analysis showed that dyslexia and ADHD share 49 genetic regions, 40 of which were newly discovered, and 174 genes, including 121 previously unidentified ones.Dyslexia is a language-based learning disorder with neurodevelopmental origins.

September 27, 2024Women who reported physical intimate partner violence (IPV) before menopause experienced a significantly greater decline in working memory after menopause as compared to women who had not reported violence, according to new research.Comprising a subgroup analysis of the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN), this research revealed that women who reported physical intimate personal violence showed an annual decline of 0.17 points in working memory performance post-menopause, compared to women who had not reported IPV. Declines in other areas of cognition, including processing speed and verbal memory, were not observed.SWAN is a multisite, longitudinal cohort study that began in 1996.

September 30, 2024Academic achievement is strongly predicted by the presence of certain non-cognitive skills, like persistence and motivation, which are linked to genetic factors and become increasingly important as children age, according to a study published in Nature Human Behaviour.1“Children who are emotionally stable, motivated, and capable of regulating their attention and impulses do better in school, independent of their level of cognitive ability,” the researchers wrote.The study involved a U.K.-based sample of more than 10,000 children aged 7 to 16 that used surveys and multiple genetic methods, including twin models and DNA-based analyses. Data was collected at ages 7, 9, 12, and 16.Parents, teachers, and twins were asked questions related to the child’s performance at school and non-cognitive skills, including academic interest and self-regulation.

September 12, 2024Vyvanse and its generic equivalents (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) may be more readily available at pharmacies following a decision by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to allow expanded production of the stimulant medication used to treat ADHD and moderate-to-severe binge-eating disorder (BED) in adults. About one-quarter of the 24% (6,236 kg) production increase in lisdexamfetamine will address domestic demand, and the remaining 75% will address foreign demand.1“These adjustments are necessary to ensure that the United States has an adequate and uninterrupted supply of lisdexamfetamine to meet legitimate patient needs both domestically and globally,” the DEA said in a letter on September 5.The DEA’s decision arrives amid a stimulant shortage that has disrupted treatment for millions of patients with ADHD for nearly two years.

August 25, 2024Adolescents exhibiting comorbid ADHD and ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) symptoms face higher unemployment rates, sick days, and lower incomes in adulthood than do their neurotypical peers, suggests new research from Finland. 1The longitudinal study, published in the Journal of Attention Disorders, identified 6,985 participants (aged 15 to 16) from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986.

August 21, 2024The mental health of U.S. high school students is trending upward after a decade of unprecedented depression, violence, and suicidality among adolescents.

August 20, 2024Children with ADHD or autism are twice as likely to experience chronic disabling fatigue by the age of 18, even when controlling for comorbid depression, according to a new study published in the journal BMJ Open. Researchers point to the high levels of inflammation (often resulting from elevated stress levels) found among research subjects as a possible explanation for this association.1While previous research has demonstrated a high prevalence of chronic fatigue in patients with ADHD,2 this is the first study to investigate potential mechanisms underlying the association.Data from The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) was analyzed to assess whether children who scored above the threshold for ADHD or autism at ages 7 and 9 had an increased risk of chronic disabling fatigue at age 18.

July 30, 2024Information about depression found online is commonly misleading. Many popular health websites mislabel depression as a cause of symptoms rather than a description of those symptoms, according to a study published in Psychopathology.1Thirty organizations, including top institutions such as the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the World Health Organization (WHO), were included in the study.

June 28, 2024Non-stimulant medication is nearly as effective as stimulant medication at improving executive function in children, adolescents, and adults with ADHD, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in May by Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.1Long-term use of stimulant and non-stimulant medications had a similar positive effect on cognition, compared to placebo, for people with ADHD. Although the treatment effect sizes varied slightly in magnitude, a meta-regression analysis found no significant differences in the overall impact on cognition between each type of ADHD drug.Methylphenidate (stimulant) and atomoxetine (non-stimulant) were the only two medications with multiple studies meeting inclusion criteria for this analysis.

June 18, 2024About 1 in 9 U.S. children received an ADHD diagnosis in 2022, contributing to an increase of 1 million new pediatric diagnoses since 2016, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).