ADHD would damage the relationship

Women with a husband or boyfriend with this disorder in adulthood are more likely to develop depression

NEW YORK (HealthDay News)—Having a husband or boyfriend with ADHD as an adult can harm a woman’s mental stability, a new study suggests.

About 3 in 5 women (59%) with male partners with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had symptoms of depression, a rate on par with caregivers who help their loved ones deal with depression issues. health such as autism, heart rhythm disorders, Alzheimer’s disease and kidney failure, researchers report.

The women also had lower quality of life scores than people whose partners suffer from health problems such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and stroke, the results showed.

“Our findings emphasize the importance of viewing ADHD as a condition that impacts not only the individual, but also their close relationships,” concluded the research team led by Adina Maeir, professor of medicine at the University’s School of Occupational Therapy. Hebrew from Jerusalem, in Israel.

“By addressing couples’ well-being, we can take a more holistic approach to treatment, offering both individuals and their partners the tools they need to improve their quality of life,” the researchers wrote in a university news release. .

Methodology

For the study, the team recruited 100 Israeli couples in which the man had been diagnosed with ADHD. On average, the couples had been together for about nine years, with 65 of them married and 35 living together.

Both men and women completed questionnaires related to the man’s ADHD symptoms. The women were also assessed for depression, quality of life and other measures related to well-being.

The results showed that the more affected a man was by his ADHD symptoms, the more likely a woman was to develop depressive symptoms or report a lower quality of life.

Likewise, women reported better quality of life if their partners took ADHD medications more consistently, the researchers found.

The results are in line with other studies that “suggest that pharmacological treatments can mitigate the symptoms of ADHD and reduce its functional repercussions,” the experts wrote.

“These findings could imply that pharmacological treatments could also have a beneficial effect on partners, as well as on individuals with ADHD,” they added.

Women can manage some of these negative effects by taking care of themselves, the results indicate. Women who focused more on their own health (exercising, enjoying social time with friends, taking time for themselves) tended to have less depression and a better quality of life, despite having a partner with attention deficit.

The new study was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Attention Disorders.

The results “support the positive association between women’s participation in health-promoting activities and their mental health outcomes, even when taking into account the negative effects of their partner’s ADHD-related functional impairment,” according to the experts. .

Go to more Health news