Young adult follow-up of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: psychiatric status

Abstract

Objective To investigate the psychiatric status in their young adulthood of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Methods This was a prospedive study.The follow-up study of a cohort of clinic-referred ADHD children was conducted.At baseline, The consecutively referred children (n = 300) with DSM-Ⅳ ADHD, aged 7.5 - 17.0 years were assessed.At the 2.0 - 13.5-year follow-up, 116 ( 38.7% ) of them were reassessed ( aged 18.0 - 23.5 years ) using the structured psychiatric interviews to make DSM-Ⅳ diagnoses by trained clinicians, including the Conners Adult ADHD Diagnostic Interview for DSM-Ⅳ (CAADID), Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-Ⅳ Axis Ⅰ Disorders, Non-Patient Version ( SCID- Ⅰ/NP), and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-Ⅳ Personality Disorders (SCID-Ⅱ).Results In the former 116 ADHD children, 50.9% (n =59) still met the ADHD criteria, in which 15.5% (n = 18) with pure ADHD, and 35.3% (n =41 ) fulfilled both ADHD and psychiatric/ personality disorders, 14.7% ( n = 17) met the criteria of psychiatric/personality disorders, but not ADHD,34.5% (n = 40) fulfilled none of the psychiatric/personality diagnoses at follow-up.Among 116 former ADHD children, 34.5% (n=40) had at least one DSM-Ⅳ axis Ⅰ disorders, in which 18.1% comorbid mood disorders, 10.3% anxiety disorders, 5.2% abuse disorders; and 32.8% (n=38) had at least one DSM-Ⅳ axis Ⅱ personality disorders, in which 5.2% type A personality disorders, 19.8% type B ( 17.2%anti-social personality disorders), 15.5% type C, and 6.0% others.Conclusion It indicates that ADHD youth be at high risk for a wide range of adverse psychiatric outcomes, and 2/3 of them have diagnoses of adult ADHD and/or psychiatric/personality disorders. Key words: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Follow-up study; Adult; Prognosis