Dr. Timothy Wilens on Negative Outcomes Associated With Untreated ADHD

(Part 1 of 5)

In this video, Psych Congress 2020 presenter Timothy Wilens, MD, discusses the negative outcomes associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that is left untreated. 

Dr. Wilens is Chief, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Co-Director, Center for Addiction Medicine, at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. He spoke at Psych Congress on "Stimulants in ADHD: Friend or Foe?"

Read the transcript:

One of the most important questions I receive around ADHD is, what happens if you don't treat ADHD? What is the natural course of ADHD?

Some of the things that we know, for example, is that individuals with ADHD who are not treated have high likelihood of developing psychiatric disorders such as mood disorders, oppositional defiant disorders, as well as cigarette and substance use disorders.

But it doesn't end there. A lot of people know that there is academic dysfunction. That continues into college and into trades. It leads to and results also in occupational dysfunction. They don't do as well. They shift jobs more frequently.

On a personal level, they have problems with interpersonal relationships, higher rates of separation and divorce.

Also, from a physical standpoint, more injuries, more motor vehicle accidents, twice the risks of motor vehicle accidents in the untreated state, as well as concussion and traumatic brain injuries.