Childhood ADHD tied to lower cognitive performance in adulthood

Childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with impaired cognitive functioning in adulthood, according to a study published online Aug. 28 in Frontiers in Psychology.

Nella Schiavone, from the University of Helsinki, and colleagues investigated the effect of childhood ADHD and subthreshold ADHD on cognitive performance in adulthood. The analysis included 39 individuals with childhood ADHD, 79 individuals with subthreshold childhood attention or hyperactivity symptoms (cAP), 255 individuals with similar perinatal risks but no ADHD symptoms, and 69 controls without ADHD symptoms or perinatal risks.

The researchers found that the groups’ performance at age 40 years differed overall across all cognitive domains. The largest effect sizes were seen for verbal reasoning, perceptual skills, memory, and speed (0.51 to 0.62).

Lower performance on 13 of 21 measures was seen for the childhood ADHD group versus the other groups. The cAP group performed poorer on five measures than controls. Three or more deficient cognitive domains were seen for 23% of the childhood ADHD group versus 4 to 6% in the other groups.

“It is noteworthy, however, that one-third of the ADHD group did not show deficits in any of the domains,” the authors write. “This is expected because of the complexity and heterogeneity of cognitive functioning in ADHD.”

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