Adult ADHD prevalence in Sivas province and comorbid axis-I, axis-II diagnoses [sivas il merkezinde erişkin dikkat eksikli?i hiperaktivite bozuklu?unun yaygi{dotless}nli{dotless}?i{dotless} ve eşlik eden eksen-I, eksen-II tani{dotless}lari{dotless}]

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the adult ADHD prevalence in Sivas province, to identify sociodemographic characteristics and comorbid axis-I and axis-II diagnoses in adults with ADHD. Methods: ASRS was administered to 901 subjects between 18-44 years of age and Childhood and Adulthood Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity module of MINI Plus 5.0.0 was administered to 28 out of 34 subjects who had ASRS scores above cutoff point and who accepted clinical interview. SCID-I and SCID-II were used to evaluate comorbid axis-I and axis-II diagnoses in subjects with ADHD. Findings: Screening with ASRS revealed a prevalence rate of 3.8% which dropped to 2.7% with the structured clinical interview. Adult ADHD was found to be higher (83.3%) in women in this sample which was statistically significant. Subjects with ADHD had lower employment status, more frequent job changes, medium level of income, more suicide attempts, more cigarette consumption, more psychiatric diagnoses on behalf of themselves and in their parents and more reported psychiatric need when compared to subjects without ADHD. 83% of the subjects with ADHD (n=20) had comorbid axis I diagnoses. Most common comorbid diagnoses were obsessive compulsive disorder, major depression and dysthymic disorder, each of which were 20.8%. 33.3% of the patients didn't have any axis II diagnoses. Most common axis II diagnoses were obsessive compulsive personality disorder (25%)and passive aggressive personality disorder (25%). Discussion: In conclusion, the main clinical implication of this study is that ADHD is a persistent diagnosis in adulthood. Given the high prevalence of adult ADHD and its high comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders, ADHD should be considered as a possible comorbid diagnosis for many patients in adult psychiatry clinics, especially for those who show continued impairment despite appropriate treatment or the presenting disorder.