ADVERTISEMENT
ADHD Diagnosis May Not Benefit Adolescent Quality of Life
A childhood diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may not improve quality of life in adolescence, suggest study findings published online in JAMA Network Open.
“In this cohort study, we found that children diagnosed with ADHD reported similar or poorer quality of life at age 14 to 15 years compared with children who had grown up experiencing the same levels of hyperactive or inattentive behaviors but had not been given an ADHD diagnosis,” wrote a research team from The University of Sydney and Bond University in Australia.
Related: Pine Bark Extract May Improve Pediatric ADHD Symptoms With Fewer Adverse Effect
The study included 393 adolescents with an ADHD diagnosis matched with 393 adolescents with similar levels of hyperactive or inattentive behaviors but no ADHD diagnosis.
Adolescents with a diagnosis had a similar overall quality of life as measured by Child Health Utility 9D instrument as adolescents without a diagnosis. General health, happiness, and peer trust subdomains were also similar between groups.
However, compared with adolescents without a diagnosis, those with an ADHD diagnosis had worse psychological sense of school membership (−2.58), academic self-concept (−0.14), and self-efficacy (−0.20) than controls, and they displayed more negative social behaviors (1.56).
Moreover, they were substantially more likely to harm themselves. Compared with no diagnosis, an ADHD diagnosis was associated with a 2.53 odds ratio for self-harm, researchers reported.
“This raises important questions about the long-term effectiveness and safety of diagnosing children and adolescents with ADHD, especially for those with low-risk or borderline hyperactive or inattentive behaviors,” researchers wrote. “Our findings provide a rationale for a well-designed, large, randomized trial with long-term follow-up.”
Reference
