2023-11-11 02:37:15
Adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are almost three times more likely to develop dementia than adults without ADHD.
Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are nearly three times more likely to develop dementia than adults without ADHD, according to a study from the Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center at Rutgers Brain Health Institute (BHI), in USA.
The study, co-authored by Michal Schnaider Beeri, director of the Herber Alzheimer’s Research Center, along with Jacqueline Krieger Klein at the Rutgers Brain Health Institute (BHI), has been published in JAMA Network Open. The research has followed more than 100,000 older adults in Israel for 17 years to examine whether adults with ADHD have a higher risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.
Although more than 3 percent of the adult population in the United States has ADHD, there is limited research on this group. “By determining whether adults with ADHD are at increased risk for dementia and whether medications and/or lifestyle changes may affect the risks, the results of this research can be used to better inform caregivers and physicians.” said Beeri, Krieger Klein Endowed Chair in Neurodegeneration Research at BHI and a faculty member at the Rutgers Institute of Health, Healthcare Policy and Research on Aging.
Using data from a national cohort study of more than 100,000 people who were followed between 2003 and 2020, the researchers analyzed those with and without ADHD and the onset of dementia between the groups as they aged. The researchers found that the presence of ADHD in adults was associated with a significantly increased risk of dementia even when other dementia risk factors, such as cardiovascular disease, were taken into account.
Adult ADHD may materialize as a neurological process that reduces your ability to compensate for the effects of cognitive decline later in life, the researchers said. “Physicians, clinicians and caregivers who work with older adults must monitor ADHD symptoms and associated medications,” said Abraham Reichenberg, professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and senior author of the study.
“Symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity in old age should not be ignored and should be discussed with doctors,” said Stephen Levine, professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa.
On the other hand, research suggests that ADHD treatment that incorporates psychostimulants may help reduce the risk of dementia in adults with ADHD, as psychostimulants are known to modify the trajectory of cognitive decline. But researchers have noted that future studies should look in more detail at the impact of medications on patients with ADHD and how they might affect risk. RV: Ana Mera, pharmacist. Barcelona
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