Needed: Providers Who Can Diagnose and Treat Adult ADHD

"The most recent data on adult ADHD from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that for the past year, 6% of adults qualified for a diagnosis of ADHD. Lifetime diagnoses were 8%. Half of these adults were diagnosed after age 18 with 61% of these late identified cases being female."

"In 2005, the U.S. National Comorbidity study results showed that diagnosed depression (6.7%) in the previous year was the most frequent psychiatric diagnosis in adults. The second-most frequent adult diagnosis in the previous year was ADHD at 4.1% (with 4.4% lifetime prevalence). Anxiety came in third (3.1%)"

"Although adult ADHD is the second most prevalent psychiatric diagnosis among American adults, very few practicing clinicians or current clinicians-in-training, such as those in graduate school programs for clinical psychology, medical schools, or psychiatric residency training programs, are introduced to adult ADHD as part of the curriculum."

Recent CDC data indicate that 6% of U.S. adults qualified for an ADHD diagnosis in the past year, with 8% having lifetime diagnoses. Adult ADHD ranks as the second most prevalent psychiatric diagnosis in the United States, a position it held in 2005 and maintains in 2024. Notably, half of adults diagnosed with ADHD received their diagnosis after age 18, with 61% of late-identified cases being female. Despite these significant prevalence rates, few practicing clinicians or clinicians-in-training receive adequate education in adult ADHD assessment and treatment. Clinical psychology graduate programs, medical schools, and psychiatric residency training programs rarely include adult ADHD in their curricula, creating a substantial gap between diagnosis prevalence and clinician preparedness.

Read at Psychology Today