Prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in patients with schizophrenia

• Published in: Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica Vol. 139; no. 1; pp. 89 - 96
• Main Authors: Arican, I., Bass, N., Neelam, K., Wolfe, K., McQuillin, A., Giaroli, G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.2019; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: ADHD; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - diagnosis; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - epidemiology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Children; Cognitive Dysfunction - diagnosis; Cognitive Dysfunction - epidemiology; Cognitive Dysfunction - psychology; cognitive impairment; Cohort Studies; Comorbidity; diagnosis; Female; Humans; Male; Mass Screening - methods; Mental disorders; Middle Aged; Original; Patients; Prevalence; psychoses; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - diagnosis; Schizophrenia - epidemiology; Self Report - standards; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards; Systematic review; Young Adult; ADHD; diagnosis; cognitive impairment; psychoses; comorbidity
• ISSN: 0001-690X; 1600-0447; 1600-0447
• DOI: 10.1111/acps.12948

Objective To investigate the frequency of childhood and adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in a cohort of patients with schizophrenia (SCZ). Methods A systematic review was conducted to evaluate existing evidence. Two self‐report questionnaires were used to investigate adult ADHD and childhood ADHD symptoms in 126 patients with ICD‐10 diagnoses of SCZ. Results Five studies were included in the systematic review, with the prevalence of childhood and adult ADHD in SCZ subjects ranging between 17–57% and 10–47% respectively. Within our cohort, 47% of patients reported positive screening for ADHD symptoms either in childhood or adulthood. 23% reported symptomatology consistent with both childhood and adult ADHD. Conclusions We demonstrate a greater presence of ADHD symptomatology in SCZ compared to that reported for ADHD in the general population. Our findings highlight the importance of improved clinical assessment and treatment considerations in a subgroup of patients with SCZ.