A shocking study from Rutgers University shows that adults with ADHD have a nearly threefold increased risk of developing dementia. This study calls for greater attention to ADHD symptoms in older adults and further exploration of treatments that might reduce this risk.
Rutgers University researchers explore the relationship between ADHD and dementia and whether the risk can be reduced by treating ADHD. Studies show that adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are nearly three times more likely to develop dementia than adults without ADHD.
The study, co-authored by Michal Schnaider Beeri, director of the Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Rutgers University's Brain Health Institute (BHI), was published in JAMA Network Open. The study followed more than 100,000 older adults in Israel for 17 years to examine whether adults with ADHD were at increased risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.
Although more than 3% of adults in the United States have ADHD, research on this group is limited.
"The results of this study can better inform caregivers and clinicians by determining whether adults with ADHD are at higher risk for developing dementia and whether medications and/or lifestyle changes affect risk," said Beeri, the Krieger Klein Professor of Neurodegeneration Research at BHI and a faculty member at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Healthcare Policy and Aging.
Research findings and implications
Using data from a national cohort study that followed more than 100,000 people from 2003 to 2020, the researchers analyzed the incidence of dementia among people with and without ADHD and as they age. The researchers found that people with adult ADHD had a significantly higher risk of developing dementia, even after accounting for other risk factors for dementia, such as cardiovascular disease.
Researchers say ADHD in adults may be a neurological process that reduces their ability to compensate for the effects of cognitive decline later in life.
"Physicians, clinicians and caregivers who work with older adults should monitor ADHD symptoms and related medications," said the study's senior author Abraham Reichenberg, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Stephen Levine, a professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa, said: "Attention-deficit and hyperactivity symptoms in older adults should not be ignored and should be discussed with a doctor."
Additionally, research suggests that treating ADHD with psychostimulants may help reduce the risk of dementia in adults with ADHD, as psychostimulants are known to alter the trajectory of cognitive impairment. But the researchers say future studies should examine the effects of drugs in people with ADHD and how they affect risk in more detail.