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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.

October 20, 2025Autism diagnosed in early childhood is genetically distinct from autism diagnosed after age 10, according to a new study that identified two unique genetic profiles in early- and later-diagnosed autistic individuals. The study, published in Nature, found that later-diagnosed autism had a more significant genetic correlation to ADHD, as well as mental health conditions including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

September 24, 2025The ADHD community has lost a caring, generous, and influential leader.Thomas E. Brown, Ph.D., died on August 18 at the age of 83.

August 13, 2025Serotonin dysfunction occurs in nearly three-quarters of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities linked to ADHD, according to a new systematic review published in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.1The study identified 182 comorbidities in ADHD populations and found strong evidence linking 135 (74.2%) of them, including 91 psychiatric and 44 somatic conditions, to imbalances in the brain’s serotonergic system.“This association confirmed the occurrence of comorbidities within a clearly defined ADHD population (rather than the presence of ADHD within a population with a particular condition), and also confirmed that the comorbidity was a co-occurring condition and not an adverse event elicited by ADHD treatment,” the researchers wrote.The research team examined close to 50,000 papers published between January 2010 and March 2024. Based on the volume of articles and the overall high grade of evidence, they concluded that the top five psychiatric ADHD comorbidities associated with serotonin dysregulation include:The top five somatic ADHD comorbidities associated with a serotonin dysregulation include:The brain’s “feel good” chemical, serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood, impulsivity, and physical functions, such as sleep and digestion.According to a recent study in Nature, serotonin neurons signal to the brain the expected value of near-future rewards.

July 25, 2025Adults with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) are significantly more likely than their non-diabetic peers to have ADHD, according to new research published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine.1For the study, 273 participants with TID completed questionnaires using the Adult Self-Report Scale V1.1 (ASRS) for ADHD symptoms. Information about the patients’ cardiometabolic conditions, lab tests, and scores on a questionnaire assessing depression was obtained from medical records.Of the participants:ADHD symptom prevalence decreased as age increased, but ADHD symptoms among TID patients remained appreciably higher than average across the lifespan.

July 22, 2025Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) comprises four distinct subtypes, each with unique genetic patterns and traits that influence brain development, according to a new study published in Nature Genetics that also suggests that certain underlying genetic variations in individuals with ASD increase the likelihood of having ADHD. 1“Autism and ADHD are highly comorbid and share a staggering number of traits and symptoms, many of which are not reflected in diagnostic criteria for either condition,” said Karen Saporito, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist, during the ADDitude webinar “AuDHD Guidance: Why Autism is So Difficult to Diagnose in Women and Girls with ADHD.” “We’ve barely begun to scratch the surface on ADHD and autism.”Though researchers have identified hundreds of ASD-associated genes and substantial evidence for a genetic basis of the condition, few studies have linked specific genes to autistic traits.2, 3, 4, 5The Nature Genetics study, led by a team of researchers from Princeton University, identified four distinct ASD subtypes using a generative mixture modeling framework and data from 5,392 autistic children aged 4 to 18 who participated in the SPARK cohort, a nationwide effort to collect and track the genetic and clinical presentations of autism.

June 17, 2024Emotional dysregulation (ED) and maladaptive personality traits may cause relatively high functional impairment among college students with ADHD and warrant consideration during clinical assessments, suggests a new study published in the Journal of Attention Disorders.1The study analyzed survey data collected from 2020 to 2023 on symptom severity, ED, and emotional instability among 1,858 college students across eight universities in the United States. Among subjects with self-reported ADHD symptoms, three profiles with distinct emotional dysregulation dimensions, impairments, and personality traits emerged:The Primarily Inattentive Profile reported the highest level ofParticipants who fit this profile also reported the lowest levels of emotional stability and limited access to emotional regulation strategies.The Moderate ADHD Severity profile reported the lowest levels of ADHD impairment and internalizing problems compared to the other ADHD profiles.The High ADHD Severity profile reported the highest levels of risk-taking behaviors.

June 10, 2025ADHD prevalence in adults and children remains stable, suggesting that the steady increase in new ADHD diagnoses does not indicate an “epidemic” but improved research and diagnostic tools, according to a new study published in the Journal of Attention Disorders. 1The systematic review, led by a team of researchers from King’s College London, found no significant increase in ADHD prevalence rates among children and adults from 2020 to 2024 compared to earlier time periods.

May 27, 2025ADHD raises the risk of obesity, but its effect is dampened for people living in large cities, according to two new studies.Young adults with combined-type ADHD are more likely than their non-ADHD peers to carry excess weight around their midsection and to have an unhealthy waist-to-height ratio (known as the body mass index or BMI), according to a new cross-sectional study published in American Journal of Human Biology. 1Obesity-related health conditions, such as heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, are tied to excess abdominal fat.“The effect of ADHD on obesity intensified with age,” however, “no significant association was found with blood pressure, but trends suggested hypertension may escalate with age among ADHD individuals,” the study’s authors wrote.The biological link between ADHD and obesity, and the influence of environment on this relationship, was the focus of another new study led by researchers from the Tandon School of Engineering at New York University and the Italian National Institute of Health. 2The study, published in PLOS Complex Systems, proposed that ADHD influences obesity along two pathways:“A lot of people I work with complain about using food for stimulation,” said Nicole DeMasi Malcher, M.S., R.D., CDES, during the ADDitude webinar “Eating with ADHD: Improving Your Relationship with Food.” “They are constantly looking for food to deliver a quick fix rather than thinking about the long-term effects.”Malcher attributes this behavior, in part, to poor interoception, the ability to sense what’s happening inside the body, including cues such as thirst, hunger, and fullness.

April 29, 2025Stimulant medications (amphetamine or methylphenidate) reduce ADHD symptoms better than non-pharmacological interventions, according to a meta-analysis published in The Lancet Psychiatry, which included 113 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and 14,887 participants aged 19 to 44. 1The researchers analyzed self-reports and clinician-reported rating scales submitted at 12, 26, and 52 weeks regarding the efficacy of medication and non-medication treatment for ADHD.“Stimulants were the only intervention supported by evidence of efficacy in the short term (i.e., at time points closest to 12 weeks) for core symptoms of ADHD in adults (both self-reported and clinician-reported) and were associated with good acceptability (all-cause discontinuation),” they said.

March 21, 2025Music exerts powerful, and largely positive, forces on the brain regions responsible for decision-making, memory, mood, and comprehension, according to decades of research. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 But what types of music work best for individuals with ADHD? Two new studies suggest that stimulating music, and specifically songs with strong, targeted amplitude modulations, promotes attention and improves cognition in adults with ADHD symptoms.A peer-reviewed study published in the journal Communications Biology found that music with strong, targeted amplitude modulations (AM + Music) sustains attention for people with ADHD symptoms by engaging the brain regions responsible for cognitive control.

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.

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.

December 3, 2022Over the years, persistent concerns by clinicians about the safety of ADHD medications have hampered treatment, particularly in middle-aged and older adults. The notion that ADHD stimulants were intrinsically toxic to the cardiovascular system, despite reliable evidence to the contrary, has now been debunked.A new meta-analysis of studies from the last 15 years, involving more than 3.9 million participants, concluded that “ADHD medication use was not statistically significantly associated with the risk of any CVD (cardiovascular disease) among children and adolescents, young and middle-aged adults, older adults, or overall.” The analysis, published in JAMA Network Open, was the most comprehensive to date on the association between ADHD medication and CVD risk.1The study found:[Download: ADHD Medications – Comparison Chart of Stimulants & Nonstimulants]Moreover, there was no increased risk of cardiovascular disease, regardless of the type of CVD the patient had when starting the ADHD stimulant, or that developed while they were taking ADHD medications.

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Here is a summary of CDC advice for healthcare providers, laboratory professionals, and public health professionals using antibody tests for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.