Live fast, die young? A review on the developmental trajectories of ADHD across the lifespan

Bibliographic Data

ID23364952
AuthorsBarbara Franke (0000-0003-4375-6572, Radboud University Nijmegen, corresponding author), Giorgia Michelini (0000-0002-0887-7582, King's College London), Philip Asherson (0000-0003-2667-2254, King's College London), Tobias Banaschewski (0000-0003-4595-1144, Heidelberg University), Andrea Bilbow (0000-0002-1888-4049, Edgware Community Hospital), Jan Buitelaar (0000-0001-8288-7757, Radboud University Nijmegen), Jan K Buitelaar, Bru Cormand (0000-0001-5318-4382, Instituto de Salud Carlos III), Stephen V Faraone (0000-0002-9217-3982, SUNY Upstate Medical University), Ylva Ginsberg (0000-0003-1934-376X, Karolinska Institutet), Jan Haavik (0000-0001-7865-2808, Haukeland University Hospital), Jonna Kuntsi (0000-0002-0113-8162, King's College London), Henrik Larsson (0000-0002-6851-3297, Karolinska Institutet), Klaus-Peter Lesch (0000-0001-8348-153X, Sechenov University), Josep Antoni Ramos‐quiroga (0000-0003-1622-0350, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona), J Antoni Ramos-Quiroga, János Réthelyi (0000-0002-3641-012X, Semmelweis University), János M Réthelyi, Marta Ribasés (0000-0003-1039-1116, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental), Andreas Reif (0000-0002-0992-634X, Goethe University Frankfurt)
Year2018
Volume28
Issue10
Pages1059-1088
Publication date2018-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Neuropsychopharmacology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0924-977X • E-ISSN: 1873-7862
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.08.001
PMID30195575
OpenAlexW2891070637
LanguageEN
Citations received59
References cited242

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is highly heritable and the most common neurodevelopmental disorder in childhood. In recent decades, it has been appreciated that in a substantial number of cases the disorder does not remit in puberty, but persists into adulthood. Both in childhood and adulthood, ADHD is characterised by substantial comorbidity including substance use, depression, anxiety, and accidents. However, course and symptoms of the disorder and the comorbidities may fluctuate and change over time, and even age of onset in childhood has recently been questioned. Available evidence to date is poor and largely inconsistent with regard to the predictors of persistence versus remittance. Likewise, the development of comorbid disorders cannot be foreseen early on, hampering preventive measures. These facts call for a lifespan perspective on ADHD from childhood to old age. In this selective review, we summarise current knowledge of the long-term course of ADHD, with an emphasis on clinical symptom and cognitive trajectories, treatment effects over the lifespan, and the development of comorbidities. Also, we summarise current knowledge and important unresolved issues on biological factors underlying different ADHD trajectories. We conclude that a severe lack of knowledge on lifespan aspects in ADHD still exists for nearly every aspect reviewed. We encourage large-scale research efforts to overcome those knowledge gaps through appropriately granular longitudinal studies.

Anxiety · Attention deficit · Cognition · Comorbidity · Depression (economics) · Developmental psychology · Persistence (discontinuity) · Perspective (graphical) · Psychiatry · Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder · Clinical Psychology · Functional Brain Connectivity Studies · Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies · Psychology