ADHD in Old Age: Self-rated Symptoms and Clinical Information from a Population-Based Swedish Sample Aged 65 and Older
Year: 2013
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: DOCTORAL DISSERTATION IN PSYCHOLOGY\nABSTRACT\nGuldberg-Kjär, Taina (2013). ADHD in old age - Self-rated symptoms and Clinical information from a\nPopulation-Based Swedish Sample Aged 65 and older. Department of Psychology. University of\nGothenburg, Sweden.\nOur knowledge of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has increased in recent years.\nHowever, given sparse information about its course and manifestations in later life the overall aim of\nthe thesis was to explore the frequency with which elderly individuals report childhood and current\nsymptoms that may indicate a history of ADHD. The more specific aims were: 1) to investigate\nwhether gender, age, marital status, number of employments, educational level, perceived problems in\nchildhood, self-reported health and memory were significantly associated with childhood and current\nADHD symptoms, 2) to compare scales capturing ADHD symptoms for older individuals’ self-reports\nabout childhood and current ADHD symptomatology and relating these results to the DSM-IV ADHD\ncriteria, and 3) to analyse daily functioning, past psychiatric history, family psychiatric history and\noverall health history in older individuals meeting criteria for late life ADHD and to illustrate typical\nlife courses through case reports. Study I The 25-item Wender Utah Rating Scale was administered in\na population-based sample of 2500 persons aged 65 to 80 to study the prevalence of self-rated\nchildhood ADHD. Demographics, self-ratings of problems in childhood, current health and memory\nwere also investigated. A total of 1599 individuals participated corresponding to a response rate of\n64%. The prevalence rate was 3,3% using a cut off score of 36 or more in the WURS-scale. Men rated\nsignificantly more ADHD symptoms. Those reporting more childhood ADHD symptoms also claimed\ngeneral problems in childhood as well as worse current health. In Study II we examined the\npersistence of ADHD symptomatology across the lifespan by comparing older individuals’ self-reports\nabout current ADHD symptoms and childhood symptoms. Based on the WURS scores (below and\nabove 36) in Study I, two sub-samples were randomly drawn, each with 30 individuals who were\nclinically worked-up using the Wender Riktad ADHD Symtom Skala (WRASS). Our finding suggests\na persistence of self-reported ADHD symptoms over the entire lifespan. In Study III we compared\ndifferent scales capturing ADHD symptoms for self-reports about childhood and current\nADHD symptomatology. We also related these reports to the DSM-IV ADHD criteria using the\nWRASS and Barkley Scales. The results support the idea of life long persistence of ADHD symptoms.\nIn Study IV we explored problems in daily functioning, past psychiatric history, family psychiatric\nhistory, and overall health history in elderly individuals reporting childhood ADHD symptomatology.\nThe Barkley Scales and a clinical interview were used. Three individuals were selected for in depthinterviews\nabout their lifetime experiences and functioning. Our main finding was that of significantly\nmore childhood and current problems in daily functioning in most domains of daily life, and more of\npast psychiatric history among those reporting more childhood ADHD symptoms. Conclusions: Our\nfindings support the idea that ADHD symptoms may remain across the lifespan although this claim\nonly can be fully confirmed by a longitudinal study design. Future research is therefore needed to\nidentify factors that can alleviate the life span burden of ADHD.\nKeywords: ADHD, population-based, prevalence, persistency, old people, lifespan, scales\nISSN 1101-718X, ISBN 978-91-628-8736-0, ISRN GU/PSYK/AVH--284—SE\nTaina Guldberg-Kjär, Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, BOX 500, SE-405 30\nGothenburg, Phone: +46443092075. E-mail: [email protected]
Author: Taina Guldberg-Kjär
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W50047221