Recent findings deepen our understanding of ADHD in children and the role it plays in mental heath as they mature.
Separate coverage of recent findings by Joseph Biederman, MD at Harvard Medical School in USA Today and WebMD show that teen girls with the disorder are more likely to suffer other mental health problems and participate in risky behaviors such as smoking. The WebMD article includes some relevant statistics, a few of which are shown below:
On almost every measure, the ADHD sufferers fared worse than their unafflicted counterparts:
- More than 20% were disruptive vs. 3% of those without ADHD.
- More than one in three suffered major depression, compared with three in 100 of those without ADHD.
- 56% suffered anxiety vs. 19% of those without ADHD.
- 4% drank alcohol vs. 1% of those without ADHD.
- 12% used drugs compared with 4% of those without ADHD.
- Anorexia and bulimia each claimed about 5% of ADHD sufferers.
What isn’t covered in either article is whether there are any steps that parents of young girls with ADHD can take to mitigate the risk of other issues as their children develop.
