Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, comorbidities, and risk situations.

OBJECTIVE: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is highly prevalent, and its symptoms often represent a significant public health problem; thus, the aim of this study was to verify emergency situations caused by certain comorbidities, or by exposing the patient to a higher risk of accidents. DATA SOURCE: A literature search was carried out in the PubMed database between the years 1992 and 2012, using the key words "adhd", "urgency", "comorbidity", "substance disorder", "alcohol", "eating disorder", "suicide", "trauma", "abuse", "crime", "internet", "videogame", "bullying", and their combinations. The selection considered the most relevant articles according to the scope of the proposed topic, performed in a non-systematic way. DATA SYNTHESIS: Several situations were observed in which ADHD is the most relevant psychiatric diagnosis in relation to its urgency, such as the risk of accidents, suicide risk and addition, exposure to violence, or risk of internet abuse or sexual abuse; or when ADHD is the most prevalent comorbidity and is also correlated with emergency situations, such as in bipolar and eating disorders. CONCLUSIONS: The results show several comorbidities and risk situations involving the diagnosis of ADHD, thus reinforcing the importance of their identification for the adequate treatment of this disorder.

Transtorno de déficit de atenção/hiperatividade, comorbidades e situações de risco / Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, comorbidities, and risk situations

OBJETIVO: O transtorno de déficit de atenção/hiperatividade (TDAH) apresenta alta prevalência, e seus sintomas apresentam-se frequentemente como um problema de saúde pública considerável. Assim, o objetivo desta revisão é verificar estas situações de urgência provocadas por determinadas comorbidades, ou por expor o paciente a um maior risco de acidentes. FONTE DOS DADOS: Foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica na base de dados PubMed entre os anos de 1992 e 2012, utilizando os descritores "adhd", "urgency", "comorbidity", "substance disorder", "alcohol", "eating disorder", "suicide", "trauma", "abuse", "crime", "internet", "videogame", "bullying", e suas combinações. A seleção dos artigos considerou aqueles mais relevantes de acordo com a abrangência do tema proposto, de forma não sistemática. SíNTESE DOS DADOS: Foram encontradas diversas situações em que o TDAH é o diagnóstico psiquiátrico mais relevante em relação à urgência, como risco de acidentes, risco de suicídio e adição, exposição à violência ou risco de abuso de internet ou abuso sexual; ou então o TDAH é a comorbidade mais prevalente e está igualmente correlacionada à urgência, como no transtorno de humor bipolar e nos transtornos alimentares. CONCLUSÕES: Nossos resultados mostram diversas comorbidades e situações de risco envolvendo o diagnóstico de TDAH e, assim, reforçam a importância de serem reconhecidas para um tratamento adequado deste transtorno.

OBJECTIVE: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is highly prevalent, and its symptoms often represent a significant public health problem; thus, the aim of this study was to verify emergency situations caused by certain comorbidities, or by exposing the patient to a higher risk of accidents. DATA SOURCE: A literature search was carried out in the PubMed database between the years 1992 and 2012, using the key words "adhd", "urgency", "comorbidity", "substance disorder", "alcohol", "eating disorder", "suicide", "trauma", "abuse", "crime", "internet", "videogame", "bullying", and their combinations. The selection considered the most relevant articles according to the scope of the proposed topic, performed in a non-systematic way. DATA SYNTHESIS: Several situations were observed in which ADHD is the most relevant psychiatric diagnosis in relation to its urgency, such as the risk of accidents, suicide risk and addition, exposure to violence, or risk of internet abuse or sexual abuse; or when ADHD is the most prevalent comorbidity and is also correlated with emergency situations, such as in bipolar and eating disorders. CONCLUSIONS: The results show several comorbidities and risk situations involving the diagnosis of ADHD, thus reinforcing the importance of their identification for the adequate treatment of this disorder.

Is age-at-onset criterion relevant for the response to methylphenidate in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder?

OBJECTIVE: Since DSM-IV criteria for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) require that some symptoms causing impairment must be present before 7 years of age, clinicians are faced with a diagnostic and treatment dilemma on how to proceed with late-onset ADHD patients. We aimed to compare the response to methylphenidate between a group of patients fulfilling all DSM-IV ADHD criteria (full ADHD diagnosis) and a group of patients fulfilling all DSM-IV criteria except the age-at-onset criterion (late-onset ADHD). METHOD: We evaluated 180 children and adolescents (4-17 years old) and 111 adults from our ADHD unit. All ADHD diagnoses were assessed using DSM-IV criteria. Methylphenidate was administered twice daily (8 a.m. and noon), but an extra dose was allowed between 5 and 6 p.m. for children and adolescents needing extra coverage in the evening. The minimum dose was 0.30 mg/kg/day. Response to treatment was assessed in methylphenidatenaive subjects using the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Scale-version IV (SNAP-IV) at baseline and after 1 month of treatment. Data were collected from January 2000 to January 2006. RESULTS: In both samples, subjects with the full ADHD diagnosis did not have a better response to methylphenidate at doses around 0.5 mg/kg/day than the late-onset ADHD subjects. In fact, adults with late-onset ADHD had a better response to methylphenidate than adults with the full diagnosis, even after adjustment for confounders (baseline SNAP-IV total score and ADHD types) (children and adolescents: F = 0.865, p = .354; adults: F = 5.760, p = .018). CONCLUSION: These results concur with recent literature questioning the validity of the DSM-IV age-at-onset criterion for the diagnosis of ADHD and suggest that clinicians should consider implementing methylphenidate treatment for subjects with late-onset ADHD.