ADHD Research and News: Latest News

January 16, 2025Methylphenidate and atomoxetine use do not increase a pregnant woman’s risk for miscarriage or congenital anomalies in the fetus, finds a new systematic review and meta-analysis published in JAMA Network Open.1The review included 10 studies involving 16.5 million pregnant women from 6 countries. It is the first study to compare pregnant women with ADHD who took methylphenidate or atomoxetine with pregnant women with ADHD who did not take these medications, as well as with pregnant women who did not have ADHD or take these medications.The study, which helps to fill in the gaps of a still-evolving research landscape, has critical implications for millions of women of reproductive age.

February 25, 2025Spravato, the esketamine nasal spray approved in 2019 for use alongside oral antidepressants for treatment-resistant depression, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a standalone monotherapy with no oral medication required.Esketamine is a form of the dissociative agent ketamine, commonly used as an anesthetic; it works by targeting the neurotransmitter glutamate.

February 18, 2025The Trump administration’s recently established Make America Healthy Again Commission has come under fire from medical experts and patient advocacy groups for singling out autism spectrum disorder and ADHD, saying the “over-utilization of medication” for those and other conditions “pose a dire threat to the American people and our way of life.” The commission, which will be chaired by the newly confirmed director of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a vocal anti-vaccine advocate, says it aims to end ADHD, autism, and other chronic health conditions with “fresh thinking on nutrition, physical activity, healthy lifestyles, over-reliance on medication and treatments, the effects of new technological habits, environmental impacts, and food and drug quality and safety.”Almost immediately, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) condemned what it called the stigmatizing language and stated purpose of the commission, which established a 100-day mission to:“We know from the evidence and from our own clinical practice that the psychiatric drugs mentioned in the order, when prescribed and used as directed by properly trained psychiatrists, are safe, effective, and in some cases, lifesaving,” wrote APA CEO and Medical Director Marketa M.

February 11, 2025Narcissistic personality traits are curbed, and empathy improved, by the use of stimulant medication in adults who have ADHD, according to a small study published in Alpha Psychiatry.1 The study is the first to explore the impact of ADHD medication on narcissistic personality traits and empathy in adult patients with ADHD, building on past research that established a high prevalence of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) in this population.The study involved 75 participants (54% male, 46% female). Of those, 44% received extended-release methylphenidate, 50% received short-acting methylphenidate, and 6% received atomoxetine for three months.

In the fall of 2023, U.S. census data revealed a dramatic spike in the number of Americans who said they had serious difficulty remembering, concentrating, or making decisions during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic, The New York Times reported. What was going on here? Did people develop ADHD symptoms during the pandemic? Or did milder symptoms suddenly become “serious” amid the pandemic’s increased demands and daily disruptions?Either possibility is plausible, according to research from the Multimodal Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Study (MTA).

January 27, 2025Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS) are distinct disorders, despite overlapping symptoms and high rates of comorbidity with ADHD, suggests a new study published in Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology1.The study found that autistic children with ADHD (auDHD) have a higher risk for CDS than do those with only one of these disorders. However, only 6% of the 2,000-plus children studied had an autism diagnosis without ADHD, a relatively small sample compared to the roughly 950 autistic subjects with ADHD.CDS, previously called “sluggish cognitive tempo,” was also found to be significantly correlated with anxiety and depression, a finding supported by previous research2.With its internal distractibility, slow pace of movement, and daytime sleepiness, CDS impacts up to 40% of children with ADHD3 and around 30% to 63% of children with inattentive ADHD.

January 24, 2025Life expectancy for people with ADHD is 7.5 years shorter than it is for those without the condition, according to a new U.K. study published in The British Journal of Psychiatry1.This study is the first of its kind to examine the life expectancy of adults with ADHD using mortality data from a large population.

January 22, 2025Men with ADHD experience higher rates of learning disabilities, tics, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and conduct disorder, while women with ADHD face an elevated relative risk for emotional and sleep disorders, according to a new cross-sectional study published in PLOS One1. The research, which found a higher incidence of comorbid psychiatric conditions among adult men than any other demographic, notably did not examine eating disorders or migraines, two comorbid conditions known to be more common in women and girls with ADHD.According to 3,152 ADDitude readers surveyed in 2022, 16% of women with ADHD reported having an eating disorder, compared to 7% of men.

December 17, 2024Emotional dysregulation is an invisible string linking sensory processing, anxiety, and ADHD in children, according to new research that explores the relationship between sensory processing subtypes and self-regulation in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Researchers found that, while some sensory subtypes were associated with elevated anxiety and others with elevated ADHD symptomatology, all sensory processing subtypes were associated with higher emotional dysregulation compared with sensory-typical children.The study, published in Nature, enrolled 117 participants from a community-based specialty clinic; all participants were children aged 8 to 12 years old with various neurodevelopmental diagnoses, including autism and ADHD.1 The researchers uncovered five distinct sensory processing profiles in this group:The study highlights the “wide range of heterogeneity in sensory experiences among populations with neurodevelopmental concerns,” say the study’s authors.The researchers investigated the prevalence of behavioral and emotional regulation challenges in the group as a whole and in different sensory subtypes.

The diagnostic criteria for ADHD are largely based on studies of young white boys — and do not reflect the lived experiences of many adults with the condition. This gap between clinical guidance and real-life symptoms has contributed to a decades-long problem with misdiagnosis, missed diagnoses, and inadequate treatment for individuals who slipped under the ADHD radar in childhood.ADHD persists into adulthood for up to 90% of children with the condition, however, only 33% of pediatricians, 30% of family practitioners, 25% of nurse practitioners, and 22% of internists said that they received adequate training on ADHD in medical school, according to data presented by the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders (APSARD) at its 2024 conference.

December 13, 2024Leaded gasoline and exposure to its exhaust may help explain an estimated 151 million U.S. cases of psychiatric disorders, including ADHD, depression, and anxiety, according to a new cross-sectional study spanning the last 75 years published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.1Exposure to leaded gasoline from car exhaust was tied to population-wide cases of mental health disorders from 1940 to 2015 by researchers from Duke University, Florida State University, and the Medical University of South Carolina.

December 6, 2024Enlisting in the military just became easier for people with ADHD.The restrictions on ADHD and other medical conditions historically used to disqualify potential recruits from joining the military have been lifted by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) under its Medical Accession Records Pilot (MARP) program.

November 22, 2024ADHD is not a static condition with fixed symptoms, but rather a dynamic disorder with symptoms that wax and wane over the lifespan, sometimes disappearing for years at a time. This was the finding of a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 1 that made another unexpected discovery: periods of higher environmental demands were associated with times of remission or reduced ADHD symptoms.Led by Margaret Sibley, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine, the research used data from the longitudinal Multimodal Treatment of ADHD (MTA) study, which followed 483 participants, diagnosed with ADHD at 7-10 years of age, for 16 years.2 Follow-up assessments, which were administered every two years, asked participants and parents about the severity and frequency of ADHD symptoms and impairments, as well as about environmental demands, including responsibilities in education, work, and finances.The researchers found that longitudinal patterns revealed four groups:Alternating periods of remission and recurrenceA significant reduction in symptoms was experienced, typically beginning in late adolescence or early adulthood, that remained stable afterwardHigh symptoms that met diagnostic thresholds with minimal or no improvement over timeSustained full remission of symptomsAmong the group that experienced fluctuating ADHD, the following trends were uncovered:ADHD symptoms improved to a point of remission at some point over the 16 years for most study participants, Sibley explains in an article titled “ADHD’s Vanishing Act” that appears in ADDitude’s forthcoming spring 2025 issue.

November 21, 2024Children with ADHD are more likely to be obese, despite lower-than-average birth weights, according to a new study that found a correlation between elevated ADHD symptoms and higher body mass index (BMI) scores for both females and males. 1The study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, complements additional research tying ADHD impulsivity to unhealthy food consumption and overeating.In analyzing data from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) of more than 19,000 families with children born between 2000 and 2002, researchers found that children with ADHD had significantly lower birth weights than did children in the control group.

November 17, 2024Brain volume, and the genetic variants that influence it, is tied to ADHD and Parkinson’s disease risks, suggests one of the most extensive international studies to date on DNA and brain structure.1The new study, published in Nature Genetics, examined how brain size and genetic differences influence key subcortical or ‘deep brain’ regions crucial for memory, emotional regulation, proprioception, sensory processing, and responses to rewards and punishments.A team of 189 researchers from 45 countries analyzed data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans of 74,898 participants across 19 countries. They identified 254 genetic variants that impact brain volume and the likelihood of developing ADHD and Parkinson’s disease.“Genetic variants associated with larger brain volumes in key brain regions also increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease, while variants linked to smaller brain volumes in key regions are associated with an increased risk of ADHD,” said Miguel Rentería, Ph.D., study principal and associate professor at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR Berghofer) in Australia, in a statement.

November 5, 2024Sleep problems are highly prevalent among adults with ADHD. Individuals who have ADHD and one or more psychiatric comorbidities face an increased risk for disordered sleep, according to a study published in the Journal of Attention Disorders.1The study followed a large sample of adults with ADHD in the Netherlands after they were referred to an outpatient mental health clinic.

As we explore groundbreaking advances in ADHD care and treatment over the coming years, three areas of research are particularly exciting to me. They involve new pharmacologic interventions; studies of the gut-brain link and the impact of the gut microbiome on brain functioning; and an increased understanding of specific variants of ADHD arising from different combinations of gene-environment influences.

October 22, 2024Boredom causes a heightened stress response in impulsive people, as evidenced by the elevated cortisol levels documented in new research published in Physiology & Behavior.1 The research deepens the scientific community’s understanding of the interplay between impulsivity and boredom, suggesting that this relationship may be mediated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.“This research suggests that the lived experience of boredom feels more intense and aversive for people who are highly impulsive, transforming into an overwhelming need to escape that boredom,” explained Matt Parker, Ph.D., the study’s senior author and a neuroscientist at the University of Surrey.The research comprised two studies. ​​The first, in which participants completed a dull task and self-reported levels of boredom, confirmed previous findings that individuals who identify as impulsive are more prone to boredom than are others.

October 17, 2024Onyda XR (clonidine hydrochloride), the first and only liquid non-stimulant ADHD medication approved in the U.S., and the only such medication with nighttime dosing, became available nationwide for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on October 1. 1The U.S.

October 19, 2024Sleep problems in children are associated with restless behavior and iron deficiency, two problems more common in patients with ADHD, according to a small study published in the journal Nutrients.1The study followed 199 patients referred to a Sleep/Wake Behavior Clinic between 2021 and 2023. It found that patients with ADHD were nearly twice as likely as their neurotypical counterparts to have restless leg syndrome (RLS).

October 15, 2024More than half of individuals with ADHD — and significantly more women than men — were diagnosed in adulthood, according to new data published in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).1 These findings constitute the CDC’s first update on the prevalence and age of diagnosis for ADHD in nearly 20 years.The CDC report, which found that 6 percent of U.S.

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 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.

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).