Quality of life in older adults with ADHD: links to ADHD symptom levels and executive functioning deficits.
Purpose and aim: The overall aim of the present study was to examine quality of life in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients age ≥60 years. First, we compared older adults with ADHD to both healthy controls of the same age and younger adults with ADHD. Second, we examined executive functioning as a possible underlying factor for quality of life among older adults with ADHD. Methods: The study included 158 participants in three groups: (1) older adults (60-75 years of age) with ADHD (n = 42), (2) healthy controls of the same age (n = 58), and (3) younger adults (age 18-45 years of age) with ADHD (n = 56). The patients with ADHD were clinically-referred. Quality of life was examined through self-ratings and executive functioning was examined using both self-ratings and tests. Results: Older adults with ADHD differed significantly from controls the same age on all aspects of quality of life, with large effect sizes. However, they showed similar levels of quality of life compared to younger adults with ADHD. The exception was psychological health, for which older adults displayed better quality of life compared to younger adults with ADHD. Executive deficits measured through self-ratings, especially working memory, were related to quality of life, sometimes also beyond the influence of ADHD symptom levels. Conclusions: Older adults with ADHD show serious impairments in quality of life, that are comparable to the levels found for younger adults. Impairments may increase further as these individuals grow older and clinics need to meet the needs of this increasingly larger group of patients.
['Thorell|Lisa B|LB|http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7417-6637', 'Holst|Ylva|Y|', 'Sjöwall|Douglas|D|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity D056344:Executive Function D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008570:Memory, Short-Term D008603:Mental Health D008875:Middle Aged D009483:Neuropsychological Tests D011788:Quality of Life D057566:Self Report D055815:Young Adult
quality of life ADHD older adults and executive function deficits