Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Increases Nicotine Addiction Severity in Adults Seeking Treatment for Substance Use Disorders: The Role of Personality Disorders.

AIMS: To examine the role of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and impulsive personality disorders in nicotine addiction severity among treatment-seeking substance use disorder (SUD) patients. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, we examined data from the second International ADHD in Substance Use Disorders Prevalence Study (IASP-2) on 402 adults in SUD treatment from Puerto Rico, Hungary, and Australia using diagnostic interviews for ADHD, antisocial (ASP) and borderline (BPD) personality disorders, and the self-report Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence (FTND). We compared SUD patients with and without ADHD on nicotine addiction severity. We tested direct and indirect pathways from ADHD to nicotine addiction and mediation through ASP and BPD. RESULTS: Overall, 81.4% of SUD patients reported current cigarette smoking. SUD patients with ADHD had higher FTND scores and smoked more cigarettes than those without ADHD, with an earlier onset and more years of smoking. ASP mediated the effect of ADHD on all aspects of nicotine addiction severity, whereas BPD did so only on some aspects of nicotine addiction severity. CONCLUSIONS: SUD patients with comorbid ADHD show more severe nicotine addiction than those without, which is largely explained by comorbid impulsive personality disorders. In SUD patients, it is important to screen for adult ADHD and other psychiatric disorders, especially those with impulse control deficits such as ASP and BPD.

Onset and Severity of Early Disruptive Behavioral Disorders in Treatment-Seeking Substance Use Disorder Patients with and without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

AIMS: This study addressed the age of onset of conduct disorder (CD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in treatment-seeking substance use disorder (SUD) patients with and without adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its association with early onset of SUD. METHODS: We examined data from the 2nd International ADHD in Substance Use Disorders Prevalence Study, including 400 adults in SUD treatment from Puerto Rico, Hungary, and Australia. ADHD, SUD, and CD/ODD were assessed with the Conners Adult ADHD Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV, the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview, and the K-SADS, respectively. Cox regression analyses modeled time to emergence of CD/ODD separately for SUD patients with and without adult ADHD. Linear regression models examined associations between age of onset of SUD and presence of ADHD and adjusted for sex, age, and country. To assess the mediating role of CD/ODD on the association of ADHD with onset of SUD, adjusted regression models were estimated. RESULTS: Treatment-seeking SUD patients with ADHD presented an earlier onset of CD/ODD compared with those without ADHD. CD/ODD symptom loads were higher among the SUD and ADHD group. Age of first substance use and SUD were significantly earlier in SUD patients with ADHD, and these findings remained significant after adjustment for demographics and coexisting CD/ODD. CONCLUSIONS: ADHD is associated with earlier onset of SUD as well as with an earlier onset of more frequent and more severe disruptive behavioral disorders. These findings may inform preventive interventions to mitigate adverse consequences of ADHD.