Adults with ADHD are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease

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People with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are regarding twice as likely to develop all types of cardiovascular disease as those without, a study has found.

According to a press release from Medicalnewstoday, the study was a large-scale study in Sweden and was published in World Psychiatry.

The team used data from more than 5.4 million Swedish adults born between 1941 and 1983, using the Swedish National Medical Register to identify individuals with a diagnosis of ADHD. They also obtained data on cardiovascular risk factors and other mental health conditions, including diabetes, obesity, sleep problems, and smoking.

In addition, the researchers followed the incidence of cardiovascular disease over a 13-year period from January 2001 to December 2013 using the National Medical Registry. They found that the proportion of people who developed cardiovascular disease was higher among those with ADHD than those without ADHD.

When age and gender were compared, people with ADHD were twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease as those without ADHD.

Cardiovascular risk factors such as heavy smoking, obesity, diabetes, sleep problems, poor educational attainment, and mental illness were also found to be more prevalent in adults with ADHD. However, controlling for these cardiovascular risk factors only slightly weakened the link between ADHD and cardiovascular disease risk.

Also, excluding adult patients with ADHD who were using medications for ADHD or other mental health conditions did not affect the association between ADHD and cardiovascular disease risk.

These results suggest that ADHD may be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease regardless of cardiovascular disease risk factors such as obesity or smoking. In addition, the study found that ADHD was associated with an increased risk of all types of cardiovascular disease, with the strongest association observed between heart attack, hemorrhagic stroke and atherosclerosis.

The researchers further divided the study population by age and gender and found that the association between ADHD and cardiovascular disease risk was stronger in men than in women and in younger individuals than in older people. In another analysis, the researchers also found that co-occurrence of ADHD and psychiatric disorders such as eating disorders and substance use disorders was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease compared to patients with ADHD alone.