Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults with High-Functioning Pervasive Developmental Disorders in Japan

Yasuko Takanashi,Shuntaro Itagaki,Rieko Matsuura,Yasuaki Hayashi,Hirobumi Mashiko,Kentaro Oga,Yoko Kawasaki,Hiromichi Ishikawa,Shin-Ichi Niwa,Hirohide Yokokawa,Norihiro Miyashita,Asako Kudo

doi:10.4236/ojpsych.2014.44043

Abstract

Aims: This study was designed to verify the proportion of Japanese adults with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) who met the diagnostic criteria (other than E) for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). Furthermore, we examined to what extent adults with PDD think that they exhibit ADHD symptoms. Methods: We developed an original Japanese self-report questionnaire to determine the presence or absence of 18 symptoms from the diagnostic criteria for ADHD in the DSM-IV-TR. We administered the questionnaire to 64 adults with high-functioning PDD (45 men and 19 women) and 21 adults with ADHD (10 men and 11 women), aged 18 to 59 years, with a full-scale intelligence quotient ≥75. Target patients were evaluated for ADHD by their psychiatrists. Results: Twenty-nine (45.3%) adults with PDD also had ADHD. The percentage of these adults who had over six perceived inattention symptoms from the DSM-IV-TR was 96.6%. The percentage of these adults who had over six perceived hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms was 65.5%. Thirty-five (55.6%) adults with PDD responded that they were aware of having ADHD symptoms at the level of the relevant diagnostic criteria. Conclusions: The present study is the first to examine the frequency of objective and perceived ADHD symptoms in adults with PDD in Japan. Our results show that both objective and perceived ADHD symptoms frequently appear in a large number of adults with PDD. This suggests that it is necessary to attend to concomitant ADHD symptoms in the medical care of adults with PDD.

Highlights

The essential feature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a persistent pattern of inattention and/ or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development [1]
Our results show that both objective and perceived ADHD symptoms frequently appear in a large number of adults with Pervasive developmental disorders (PDD)
The revision recognizing the comorbidity of PDD and ADHD in the DSM-5, which was not recognized in the DSM-IV-TR, is another significant difference between the two versions of the DSM

Summary

Introduction

The essential feature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a persistent pattern of inattention and/ or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development [1]. In 2013, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSMIV-TR) [2] was revised to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) [1]. Due to this revision, the general terminology for autism, PDD not otherwise specified, childhood disintegrative disorder, and Asperger’s disorder, all of which were included under the classification for PDD in the DSM-IVTR [2], was changed to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the DSM-5. Among the youths with PDD, 40% - 78% [3]-[6] experience ADHD symptoms to a degree that meets the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD, a markedly higher rate than the 3% - 7% [2] prevalence of ADHD among school-age children

Methods

Results

Conclusion