Cost of Illness and Comorbidities in Adults Diagnosed With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

Medical and psychiatric comorbidities were primary drivers of the direct health care cost associated with ADHD in adult patients. The present study demonstrated that the total costs of ADHD among adults are doubled when indirect costs associated with workplace productivity losses are included.

Adolescent ADHD and Adult Physical and Mental Health, Work Performance, and Financial Stress

“…Pediatrics 2013;131: [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a major neuropsychiatric disorder diagnosed in children, adolescents, and adults. Adolescents with ADHD are at a greater risk for concurrent problem behaviors such as drug use and delinquency, 1,2 cognitive problems, [3][4][5] mood and anxiety problems, 6 psychiatric problems including anxiety disorders, and interpersonal difficulties.…”

“…9,30,31 Families who have a child with ADHD should be 32,33 ADHD in adolescence is also associated with adult depressive mood and anxiety. 8,19,34 Fischer et al 19 pointed to the role of ADHD in major depressive disorders.…”

Bipolar Disorder and ADHD: Comorbidity and Diagnostic Distinctions

“…BD and ADHD often cooccur, and are commonly associated with other medical and psychiatric conditions [2][3][4][5].…”

Patient-Centered Medical Home and Family Burden in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

“…For example, Doshi et al 9 recently estimated that annual national costs of ADHD in the United States ranged between $143 and $266 billion (2010 dollars), accounting for family income losses, health care, and educational spending. Other estimates of the cost-of-illness in ADHD 4,8,23 are also high; expenditures reported for children with ADHD are significantly greater than those for their non-ADHD-affected siblings or peers. 8 Caregiver report of financial burden in this study, therefore, may represent not only the dollar amounts spent on their child's care (absolute burden) but also a gestalt assessment of family financial resources that reflects how costs for the care of their child with ADHD affected expenditures to meet the needs of the family as a whole (relative burden).…”

“…2 Children with ADHD are at increased risk for academic underperformance, impaired interpersonal relationships, disability, or death due to unintentional injury, employment difficulties, and socioeconomic disadvantage in adulthood. 3,4 Families of children with ADHD report high levels of parental stress, caregiver depression, decreased parental warmth, and impaired quality of life. [5][6][7] In addition, several studies demonstrate that these families experience substantial economic burden related to their child's care, 8,9 including both direct expenses for medications, physician visits, therapies, and special education services and indirect costs of work loss due to unanticipated medical visits, disruptions in childcare, and required attendance at disciplinary actions in school or juvenile justice settings.…”