The Comorbidity of ADHD and Eating Disorders in a Nationally Representative Sample

Abstract

Evidence suggests a comorbidity of childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and subsequent eating disorders. However, most studies have assessed this comorbidity among patient populations as opposed to nationally representative samples and have not explored differences by subtype of each disorder. The current study aims to investigate the association between both clinical (i.e., diagnosed) and subclinical (i.e., presence of behaviors but not all diagnostic criteria) ADHD and eating disorders via a secondary data analysis of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 12,262). Results reveal that those with clinical ADHD are more likely to experience (a) clinical eating disorder, (b) clinical-level binging and/or purging behaviors, and (c) clinical-level restrictive behaviors. Those with subclinical ADHD (both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive) were more likely to experience subclinical binging and/or purging behaviors but not subclinical restrictive behaviors. Implications of study findings pertain to both secondary/targeted prevention of eating disorders and tertiary prevention via patient-specific treatment plans.