Anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders in adult men and women with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A substantive and methodological overview

Catharina A Hartman; Henrik Larsson; Melissa Vos; Alessio Bellato; Berit Libutzki; Berit Skretting Solberg; Qi Chen; Ebba Du Rietz; Jeanette C Mostert; Sarah Kittel-Schneider; Bru Cormand; Marta Ribasés; Kari Klungsøyr; Jan Haavik; Søren Dalsgaard; Samuele Cortese; Stephen V Faraone; Andreas Reif

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105209

Anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders in adult men and women with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A substantive and methodological overview

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2023 Aug:151:105209. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105209. Epub 2023 May 5.

Authors

Catharina A Hartman¹, Henrik Larsson², Melissa Vos³, Alessio Bellato⁴, Berit Libutzki³, Berit Skretting Solberg⁵, Qi Chen⁶, Ebba Du Rietz⁶, Jeanette C Mostert⁷, Sarah Kittel-Schneider⁸, Bru Cormand⁹, Marta Ribasés¹⁰, Kari Klungsøyr¹¹, Jan Haavik¹², Søren Dalsgaard¹³, Samuele Cortese¹⁴, Stephen V Faraone¹⁵, Andreas Reif¹⁶

Affiliations

¹ University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, Department of Psychiatry, Interdisciplinary Center Psychopathology and Emotion regulation (ICPE), University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Electronic address: c.a.hartman@umcg.nl.
² Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; School of Medical Sciences, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.
³ University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, Department of Psychiatry, Interdisciplinary Center Psychopathology and Emotion regulation (ICPE), University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
⁴ School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Semenyih, Malaysia.
⁵ Child, and Adolescent Psychiatric Outpatient unit, Hospital Betanien, Bergen, Norway; Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Norway.
⁶ Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Cognition, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Department of Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
⁹ Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; Biomedical Network Research Centre on Rare Diseases (CIBERER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain; Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona (IBUB), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu (IR-SJD), Esplugues de Llobregat, Catalonia, Spain.
¹⁰ Department of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictions, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; Psychiatric Genetics Unit, Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; Department of Genetics, Microbiology & Statistics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Biomedical Network Research Centre on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
¹¹ Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Norway; Department of Health Promotion, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Bergen, Norway.
¹² Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Norway; Bergen Center of Brain Plasticity, Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.
¹³ NCRR - National Centre for Register-based Research, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; iPSYCH - The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Copenhagen, Denmark; CIRRAU - Centre for Integrated Register-based Research, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
¹⁴ Centre for Innovation in Mental Health, School of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK; Clinical and Experimental Sciences (CNS and Psychiatry), Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK; Solent NHS Trust, Southampton, UK; Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK; Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, New York University Child Study Center, New York City, New York, USA.
¹⁵ Departments of Psychiatry and of Neuroscience and Physiology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt - Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

PMID: 37149075
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105209

Abstract

Knowledge on psychiatric comorbidity in adult ADHD is essential for prevention, detection, and treatment of these conditions. This review (1) focuses on large studies (n > 10,000; surveys, claims data, population registries) to identify (a) overall, (b) sex- and (c) age-specific patterns of comorbidity of anxiety disorders (ADs), major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD) and substance use disorders (SUDs) in adults with ADHD relative to adults without ADHD; and (2) describes methodological challenges relating to establishing comorbidity in ADHD in adults as well as priorities for future research. Meta-analyses (ADHD: n = 550,748; no ADHD n = 14,546,814) yielded pooled odds ratios of 5.0(CI:3.29-7.46) for ADs, 4.5(CI:2.44-8.34) for MDD, 8.7(CI:5.47-13.89) for BD and 4.6(CI:2.72-7.80) for SUDs, indicating strong differences in adults with compared to adults without ADHD. Moderation by sex was not found: high comorbidity held for both men and women with sex-specific patterns as in the general population: higher prevalences of ADs, MDD and BD in women and a higher prevalence of SUDs in men. Insufficient data on different phases of the adult lifespan prevented conclusions on developmental changes in comorbidity. We discuss methodological challenges, knowledge gaps, and future research priorities.

Keywords: Adults; Anxiety disorders; Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder; Bipolar disorder; Comorbidity; Life course; Lifespan; Major depressive disorder; Sex differences; Substance use disorders.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Review
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Anxiety / epidemiology
Anxiety Disorders / epidemiology
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / epidemiology
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / psychology
Comorbidity
Depressive Disorder, Major* / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Male
Substance-Related Disorders* / epidemiology

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding