Mental illness doesn’t just cast a pall over one’s day-to-day life. Although it does. And it isn’t just a burden on one’s physical health. Although it is. It also poses a mortal threat. There are reams of data that reveal links between mental illness and early mortality. A new study from across the pond takes a fresh look at that link, from the perspective of those living with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
UK researchers found that ADHD patients face a much shorter life expectancy compared to the general population. And the authors blame overlooked treatment needs, avoidable health risks, and systemic inequalities.
“It is deeply concerning that some adults with diagnosed ADHD are living shorter lives than they should,” senior author and UCL professor Josh Stott said. “People with ADHD have many strengths and can thrive with the right support and treatment. However, they often lack support and are more likely to experience stressful life events and social exclusion, negatively impacting their health and self-esteem.”
Methodology
Roughly 3 percent of the world’s population lives with ADHD. Despite that, most of them also live without a diagnosis.
“We know from studies of traits in the community and from studies of childhood diagnosis that the rate of ADHD in our sample is just a fraction of what it should be,” Stott added.
The established research has long since determined how the condition exerts its influence on one’s education, employment, and overall mental health outcomes. But there’s little data to show how it might act as a drag on life expectancy.
The researchers, relying on life-table methods, examined primary care records from nearly 10 million UK adults between 2000 and 2019. The team identified more than 30,000 ADHD-diagnosed individuals and compared them with a matched cohort of 300,390 participants based on age, sex, and primary care practice.
What Did They Find?
The paper – appearing in The British Journal of Psychiatry – exposes striking disparities in life expectancy between adults with ADHD and everyone else.
- Diagnosed men lived an average of 6.78 fewer years.
- Women lost an average of 8.64 years compared to their counterparts.
- Those with ADHD had nearly double the mortality rates. Men and women were 1.89 and 2.13 times more likely, respectively, to die during the time period of the study.
The researchers also found that members of the ADHD group lived with more physical and mental health conditions, such as cardiovascular diseases and substance use disorders. And behaviors such as smoking and risky decision-making only made things worse.
Health Inequalities and Unmet Needs
The study’s authors stress that ADHD by itself doesn’t work directly against one’s lifespan, but the unmet health and support needs that usually comes with it play a part. For example, adults with ADHD disproportionately encounter obstacles such as unemployment, financial instability, and contact with the criminal justice system – all of which pose a threat to healthcare access.
Despite that, support services for adults with ADHD in the United Kingdom remain woefully underfunded. Many of the adults report problems getting treatment or specialist care. And primary care practitioners typically lack the resources (or training) to address ADHD-related needs.
The UK findings echo earlier research from Denmark, Sweden, and the United States, where diagnosed ADHD shared similar links to increased mortality rates. But, the UK’s life expectancy gap also seems to reflect systemic barriers unique to the region, such as limited access to specialized services and support for co-occurring conditions.
What’s Next?
“Only a small percentage of adults with ADHD have been diagnosed, meaning this study covers just a segment of the entire community,” lead author Liz O’Nions added. “More of those who are diagnosed may have additional health problems compared to the average person with ADHD. Therefore, our research may overestimate the life expectancy gap for people with ADHD overall, though more community-based research is needed to test whether this is the case.”
The study’s authors stress the need for targeted interventions to address the looming health disparities. They advise:
- Boosting awareness of ADHD-related health risks.
- Improving access to mental health and smoking cessation services.
- And establishing better systems for primary care providers to support ADHD patients.
Finally, the study’s authors suggest that public health campaigns to destigmatize the condition while encouraging timely diagnosis and treatment.
“Although many people with ADHD live long and healthy lives, our finding that on average they are living shorter lives than they should indicates unmet support needs,” O’Nions said. “It is crucial that we find out the reasons behind premature deaths so we can develop strategies to prevent these in future.”
Further Reading
ADHD’s Fluctuating Nature Challenges What We Think We Know
Study Reveals the Most Accurate Estimate of Adult ADHD to Date
