Adults with ADHD may face higher risk of dementia, study finds
Folks diagnosed as adults with ADHD — attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder — are almost three times as likely as those without the disorder to develop dementia, according to a Rutgers-led study published in JAMA Network Open.
While the study, which involved 109,218 adults in Israel born between 1933 and 1952 who were followed for an average of just over 17 years, doesn’t say ADHD causes dementia, the association was significant.
Among those diagnosed with adult ADHD, 13.2% later developed dementia, including Alzheimer’s, compared to 7% of those without ADHD.
“By determining if adults with ADHD are at higher risk for dementia and if medications and/or lifestyle changes can affect risks, the outcomes of this research can be used to better inform caregivers and clinicians,” said Michal Schnaider Beeri, the Krieger Klein Endowed Chair in Neurodegeneration Research at BHI and a faculty member of the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, in a written statement.
The researchers, from universities in the United States and Israel, noted a lack of information on childhood-onset ADHD, which they cited as a study limitation. They also said significant differences exist between childhood and adult-onset ADHD, so the finding is limited to adult ADHD.
And they pointed out that the association could be caused by other factors, such as apathy or having the APOE 4 allele, known to be associated with having an elevated risk of developing dementia. But they said they adjusted for 18 potential confounders before determining the 2.77-fold increased dementia risk.
Stimulants didn’t raise the risk
The dementia risk was not increased in adults with ADHD who took stimulants like Adderall or Concerta to manage the condition, the study said. As Fortune reported, “That may be because stimulants are known to improve cognitive impairment, researchers wrote.”
Related
The researchers themselves said there is a need for more studies to determine if treating ADHD with psychostimulants has any value in terms of lowering the risk of developing dementia.
The article added that “because ADHD is a chronic condition, there may be negative long-term effects if left untreated. If this is the case, perhaps it is untreated ADHD that puts patients at higher risk — not the lack of stimulant use per se.”
About ADHD and dementia
An Amen Clinics post outlines common symptoms of ADHD, including “short attention span, being easily distracted, procrastination, disorganization, trouble with follow-through, poor impulse control and, in some people, hyperactivity.” The frequent symptom people often miss, the article said, is memory problems, the clinic reports.
For those with attention deficit, “getting distracted or not paying attention can get in the way of memory formation and recall. The hallmark symptoms of this condition play a key role in why ADD/ADHD types often space out on deadlines, forget appointments or neglect to complete tasks,” per Amen Clinics.
The article also says that the consequences of ADHD, rather than the condition itself, can increase the risk of developing dementia. Those consequences include traumatic brain injury, obesity, depression, alcohol and drug use and smoking — which are all more likely in people with ADHD, compared to people without ADHD.
An earlier study in the European Journal of Neurology found that having ADHD in adulthood increases the risk of developing Lewy body dementia.
