The Relationship between Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and anxiety, Depression, Stress and Sleep in Professional Drivers in southern Iran

Abstract

Background: Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the neurodevelopmental disorders which is characterized by low focused concentration, distractibility, reduced self-regulation, and hyperactivity. They experience high rates of sleep and mental problems. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to investigate anxiety, depression, stress, and sleep among professional adult drivers with ADHD in an Iranian sample.Method: in this cross-sectional study, 547 professional adults drivers with ADHD that affirm their disorders by Conner adult ADHD rating scale (CAARS) complete survey that provides demographic data, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for assessing quality of sleep, and DASS 21 survey to evaluate Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale.Results: professional adult drivers with ADHD reveals a significant association of anxiety, depression, stress with poor sleep quality. Among these drivers, Poor quality of sleep was substantially associated with driving at night (P=0.039), but no substantial correlation was found with age, marital status, education, a model of car, and daytime driving (P>0.05). Conclusion: Given the significant correlation of anxiety, depression, stress, and ADHD with low quality of sleep, ADHD drivers may be a potential preventive measure that contributes to the identification of vulnerable drivers in terms of psychological state and improvement of their quality of sleep by setting acceptable rules for juggling working hours and supporting acts.