Although more than 3 percent of the adult population in the United States has ADHD, there is limited research on this group.
” By figuring out if adults with ADHD are at higher risk for dementia and if medications and/or way of life changes can affect risks, the results of this research can be utilized to better inform caretakers and clinicians,” said Beeri, the Krieger Klein Endowed Chair in Neurodegeneration Research at BHI and a professor of the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research.
Research Findings and Implications
Using data from a nationwide cohort study of more than 100,000 individuals who were followed from 2003 to 2020, scientists examined those with and without ADHD and the occurrence of dementia amongst the groups as they aged. Researchers discovered the existence of adult ADHD was associated with a significantly higher danger of dementia even when other risk elements for dementia were considered, such as cardiovascular conditions.
ADHD in adults might emerge as a neurological process that lowers the ability for them to make up for the results of cognitive decline later on in life, scientists stated.
” Physicians, clinicians and caregivers who work with older adults need to keep an eye on ADHD signs and associated medications,” said Abraham Reichenberg, a teacher at 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 shouldnt be ignored and must be talked about with physicians,” stated Stephen Levine, a professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa.
Potential Treatments and Future Directions
In addition, the research study suggests ADHD treatment integrating psychostimulants may help in reducing the threat of dementia in grownups with ADHD as psychostimulants are understood to customize the trajectory of cognitive disability. But scientists stated future studies need to examine in more detail the impact of medications in patients with ADHD and how they could affect threat.
Recommendation: “Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and the Risk of Dementia” by Stephen Z. Levine, Anat Rotstein, Arad Kodesh, Sven Sandin, Brian K. Lee, Galit Weinstein, Michal Schnaider Beeri and Abraham Reichenberg, 17 October 2023, JAMA Network Open.DOI: 10.1001/ jamanetworkopen.2023.38088.
Other coauthors of the research study include Anat Rotstein and Galit Weinstein of the University of Haifa; Arad Kodesh of the University of Haifa and Meuhedet Health Services; Sven Sandin of the Department of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden; and Brian Lee of Drexel University.
A stunning Rutgers study exposes that adults with ADHD deal with a nearly threefold increased risk of developing dementia. The research study calls for more attention to ADHD symptoms in older adults and additional exploration of treatments that may alleviate this risk.
Rutgers scientist checks out ADHDs link to dementia and if dangers can be reduced with ADHD treatment.
Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are nearly three times more most likely to develop dementia than grownups without ADHD, according to a Rutgers research study.
The research study, coauthored by Michal Schnaider Beeri, director of the Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimers Research Center at Rutgers Brain Health Institute (BHI) was published in JAMA Network Open. It followed more than 100,000 older grownups in Israel over 17 years to analyze if grownups with ADHD are at increased risk for dementia, consisting of Alzheimers disease.
