Experiences of Older Adult Women Diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Henry, Erin; Jones, Sally Hill

doi:10.1080/08952841.2011.589285

Cited by 42 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…In another American qualitative study, nine older women between 62 and 91 years participated, all diagnosed with ADHD after their 60th year [45]. All nine women had a comorbid depressive disorder, seven had a comorbid anxiety disorder.…”

Section: Qualitative Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

ADHD in old age: a review of the literature and proposal for assessment and treatment

Kooij

Michielsen

Kruithof

et al. 2016

Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics

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ADHD is an often heritable, neurodevelopmental disorder with a prevalence of 4-5% in children and adults and about 3% in older adults. The disorder in older adults (> 55 years) is accompanied by similar comorbidities such as anxiety and depression, and social impairment as in younger age groups. Areas covered: An overview of the literature on diagnostic assessment, differential diagnosis, and treatment of older adults with ADHD is described. Case studies show that stimulant treatment is beneficial for ADHD in old age, but randomized controlled trials are lacking. Stimulant treatment has been studied in depression and even dementia in older adults, and seems safe with active cardiovascular risk management. In this paper, a proposal for diagnostic assessment and treatment is described for ADHD in older adults, including differential diagnosis with other psychiatric and neurocognitive disorders. Expert commentary: Regarding the organization of mental health, professionals in geriatric psychiatry need to be trained in assessment and treatment of ADHD in older age. Lifespan ADHD clinics may help patients of all ages to receive better specialized care.

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Section: Qualitative Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

ADHD in old age: a review of the literature and proposal for assessment and treatment

Kooij

Michielsen

Kruithof

et al. 2016

Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics

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“…Furthermore, there is often a substantial psychosocial and functional burden associated with undiagnosed and untreated ADHD [14]. Yet there is very little understanding of the perspectives of adults with ADHD reported in the scientific literature [15,16], particularly regarding access to services and how experiences may differ between those diagnosed in childhood and those in adulthood. Previous studies in this patient population have mostly employed quantitative approaches [17,18] which are limited at investigating patients’ perspectives as they restrict the range of responses from participants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adult ADHD patient experiences of impairment, service provision and clinical management in England: a qualitative study

Matheson

Asherson

Wong

et al. 2013

BMC Health Serv Res

125

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BackgroundThere is limited evidence of the unmet needs and experiences of adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the published scientific literature. This study aimed to explore the experiences of adults in England with ADHD regarding access to diagnostic and treatment services, ADHD-related impairment and to compare experiences between patients diagnosed during adulthood and childhood.MethodsIn this qualitative study, 30 adults with ADHD were recruited through an ADHD charity (n = 17) and two hospital outpatient clinics for adults with ADHD in England (n = 13). Half of the participants were diagnosed with ADHD during childhood or adolescence and the remainder during adulthood. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and data was analysed using a thematic approach based on Grounded Theory principles.ResultsAnalysis revealed five core themes: ‘An uphill struggle’: the challenge of accessing services, ‘Accumulated Psychosocial Burden and the Impact of ADHD’, ‘Weighing up Costs vs. Benefits of ADHD Pharmacological Treatment’, ‘Value of Non-pharmacological Treatment’ and ‘Barriers to Treatment Adherence’. Accessing services and the challenges associated with securing a definitive diagnosis of ADHD in adulthood was an ‘uphill struggle’, often due to sceptical and negative attitudes towards ADHD by healthcare professionals. ADHD-related impairment had an overwhelmingly chaotic impact on every aspect of patients’ lives and many felt ill equipped to cope. A persistent sense of failure and missed potential from living with the impact of ADHD impairment had led to an accumulated psychosocial burden, especially among those diagnosed from late adolescence onwards. In contrast, positive adjustment was facilitated by a younger age at diagnosis. Although medication was perceived as necessary in alleviating impairment, many felt strongly that by itself, it was inadequate. Additional support in the form of psychological therapies or psycho-education was strongly desired. However, few patients had access to non-pharmacological treatment. In some, medication use was often inadequately monitored with little or no follow-up by healthcare professionals, leading to poor adherence and a sense of abandonment from the healthcare system.ConclusionThe findings suggest that the unmet needs of adults with ADHD are substantial and that there is a wide gap between policy and current practice in England.

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“…Michielsen et al conclude that the personality traits they call attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) 'do not fade or disappear in adulthood'. 1 Yet such a gradual extinction throughout life is precisely what their study proves. The authors quote prevalences from previous studies as high as 7% in children and 4.4% in working-age adults.…”

Section: Declaration Of Interestmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…In our study we used the delay from the point at which treatment guidelines recommend a patient should start clozapine. 1 In our view this is the key, clinically relevant, delay. However, Sharma & Grover are right in suggesting that this delay does not necessarily mean that clinicians have delayed offering clozapine, although if this were the case it implies that it has taken on average 4 years for patients to agree to start clozapine.…”

mentioning

confidence: 95%

[No Title]

Routh¹,

Jackson²

2013

Br J Psychiatry

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illness, because there may be varying periods of duration of untreated psychosis and this can have its own treatment implications. Despite these shortcomings, findings of the study suggest that even with a national healthcare system in place and the wider dissemination of treatment guidelines, there is still only a modest impact of these on real clinical practice. The possible effect of treatment guidelines is reflected by the fact that today patients receive fewer trials of other antipsychotics (2.8 v. 4 trials) before being started on clozapine compared with earlier studies.

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Experiences of Older Adult Women Diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Cited by 42 publications

References 13 publications

ADHD in old age: a review of the literature and proposal for assessment and treatment

ADHD in old age: a review of the literature and proposal for assessment and treatment

Adult ADHD patient experiences of impairment, service provision and clinical management in England: a qualitative study

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