A new study has found that adults diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are nearly three times more likely to develop dementia. The study involved 109,218 adults with and without ADHD over a 17-year period. The researchers, from institutions in Israel and the US, discovered that 13.2 percent of the participants with ADHD developed dementia, compared to 7 percent of those without an ADHD diagnosis.
After adjusting for other potential factors and calculating a hazard ratio, the conclusion was that individuals with ADHD were 2.77 times more likely to develop dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.
This study not only provides new insights into the neurological mechanisms that may trigger dementia, but also helps to identify people who could be at a greater risk, enabling precautions to be taken. Neurologist Michal Schnaider Beeri from Rutgers University explained, “By determining if adults with ADHD are at a 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.”
In the US, more than 3 percent of adults have an ADHD diagnosis, which affects attention, movement, and impulse control. The researchers suggest that the related neurological processes may impact the brain’s ability to protect against cognitive decline later in life.
While the study does not directly prove that ADHD causes dementia, it strongly suggests a relationship, highlighting the importance of monitoring adults for symptoms of the disorder as they age. Stephen Levine, a public health scientist from the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa in Israel, emphasized, “Symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity in old age shouldn’t be ignored and should be discussed with physicians.”
Treatments for ADHD vary depending on the individual and age, but a combination of medication and behavioral therapy is typically used. Interestingly, the study did not find a statistically significant increased risk of dementia in individuals with ADHD who also took psychostimulants, indicating that certain changes to ADHD treatments may lower the risk of dementia. However, further research involving a larger sample size is required to confirm this hypothesis.
Abraham Reichenberg, a brain and behavior scientist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, stressed the importance of monitoring ADHD symptoms and associated medications for older adults in order to mitigate potential risks. The findings of this study have been published in JAMA Network Open.
