Bridging the gaps: practical solutions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder management in adults

Abstract

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

ADHDadultUK (2025) State of the Nation Survey 2024. Evidence-based information about adult ADHD. Available at (accessed 22 April 2025).

American Psychiatric Association (2022) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edn, text revision. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association.

Ayano

Tsegay

Gizachew

, et al. (2023) Prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults: Umbrella review of evidence generated across the globe. Psychiatry Research, 328 :115449. DOI:10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115449.

Barkley

(2021) Taking charge of adult ADHD: Proven strategies to succeed at work, at home, and in relationships. Guilford Press.

Bedrossian

(2021) Understand and address complexities of rejection sensitive dysphoria in students with ADHD. Disability Compliance for Higher Education, 26(10): 4. DOI: 10.1002/dhe.31047.

Beheshti

Chavanon

Christiansen

(2020) Emotion dysregulation in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry, 20(1): 120. DOI: 10.1186/s12888-020-2442-7.

Biederman

Mick

Faraone

(2000) Age-dependent decline of symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: impact of remission definition and symptom type. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157(5): 816-818. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.157.5.816.

Canals

Morales-Hidalgo

Voltas

Hernández-Martínez

(2024) Prevalence of omorbidity of autism and ADHD and associated characteristics in school population: EPINED study. Autism Research, 17(6): 1276–1286. DOI: 10.1002/aur.3146.

Cortese

Sun

Zhang

, et al. (2018) Association between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis and a Swedish population-based study. Lancet Psychiatry, 5(9): 717–726. DOI: 10.1016/s2215-0366(18)30224-4.

10.

Doyle

. (2020) Neurodiversity at work: a biopsychosocial model and the impact on working adults. British Medical Bulletin, 135(1): 108-125. DOI: 10.1093/bmb/ldaa021.

11.

Faraone

Buitelaar

(2010) Comparing the efficacy of stimulants for ADHD in children and adolescents using meta-analysis. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(4):353-364. DOI: 10.1007/s00787-009-0054-3.

12.

Faraone

Banaschewski

Coghill

, et al. (2021) The World Federation of ADHD International Consensus Statement: 208 Evidence-based conclusions about the disorder. Neuroscience & Biobehavioural Reviews, 128: 789-818. DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.01.022.

13.

Ginapp

Greenberg

MacDonald-Gagnon

, et al. (2023) ‘Dysregulated not deficit’: a qualitative study on symptomatology of ADHD in young adults. PLoS One, 18(10): e0292721. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292721.

14.

Liu

Zhang

, et al. (2025) Association between heavy metals exposure and risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 34(3): 921–941. DOI: 10.1007/s00787-024-02546-z.

15.

Kessler

Adler

Ames

, et al. (2005) The World Health Organization Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS): a short screening scale for use in the general population. Psychological Medicine, 35(2): 245–256. DOI: 10.1017/s0033291704002892.

16.

Khammissa

RAG

Nemutandani

Feller

, et al. (2022) Burnout phenomenon: neurophysiological factors, clinical features, and aspects of management. Journal of International Medical Research, 50(9): 3000605221106428. DOI: 10.1177/03000605221106428.

17.

Koirala

Grimsrud

Mooney

, et al. (2024) Neurobiology of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: historical challenges and emerging frontiers. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 25(12): 759–775. DOI: 10.1038/s41583-024-00869-z.

18.

Kranz

Grimm

(2023) Update on genetics of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Current status 2023. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 36(3): 257-262. DOI: 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000852.

19.

Kring

Sloan

DM.

(2009) Emotion regulation and psychopathology: a transdiagnostic approach to etiology and treatment. Guilford Press.

20.

Linnet

Dalsgaard

Obel

, et al. (2003) Maternal lifestyle factors in pregnancy risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and associated behaviors: review of the current evidence. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(6): 1028-1040. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.160.6.1028

21.

McKechnie

O’Nions

Dunsmuir

, et al. (2023) Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnoses and prescriptions in UK primary care, 2000-2018: population-based cohort study. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 9(4): e121. DOI: 0.1192/bjo.2023.512.

22.

Moffitt

Houts

Asherson

, et al. (2015) Is adult ADHD a childhood-onset neurodevelopmental disorder? Evidence from a four-decade longitudinal cohort study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 172(10):967-977. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.14101266.

23.

Mooney

Ryabinin

Morton

, et al. (2023) Joint polygenic and environmental risks for childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and ADHD symptom dimensions. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry Advances, 3(2): e12152. DOI:10.1002/jcv2.12152.

24.

NICE (2019) Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management. Available at www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng87 (accessed 16 April 2025).

25.

RCGP. Clinical topic guide: neurodevelopmental disorders, intellectual and social disability. Available at: www.rcgp.org.uk/mrcgp-exams/gp-curriculum/clinical-topic-guides#neurodevelopmental (accessed 22 April 2025).

26.

RCGP. General practitioners with extended roles. Available at: www.rcgp.org.uk/your-career/gp-extended-roles (accessed 13 August 2025).

27.

Sayal

Prasad

Daley

, et al. (2018) ADHD in children and young people: prevalence, care pathways, and service provision. Lancet Psychiatry, 5(2): 175-186. DOI: 10.1016/S2215-0366(17)30167-0.

28.

Sibley

Swanson

Arnold

, et al. (2017) Defining ADHD symptom persistence in adulthood: optimizing sensitivity and specificity. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 58(6): 655-662. DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12620.

29.

Sibley

Rohde

Swanson

, et al. (2018) Multimodal treatment study of children with ADHD (MTA) cooperative group. Late-onset ADHD reconsidered with comprehensive repeated assessments between ages 10 and 25. American Journal of Psychiatry, 175(2): 140-149. DOI:10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17030298.

30.

Song

Zha

Yang

, et al. (2021) The prevalence of adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: a global systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Global Health, 11;11:04009. DOI: 10.7189/jogh.11.04009.

31.

Sun

Kuja-Halkola

Faraone

, et al. (2019) Association of psychiatric comorbidity with the risk of premature death among children and adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. JAMA Psychiatry, 76(11): 1141–1149. DOI:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.1944.

32.

Warrier

Kwong

ASF

Luo

, et al. (2021) Gene-environment correlations and causal effects of childhood maltreatment on physical and mental health: a genetically informed approach. Lancet Psychiatry, 8(5): 373–386. DOI: 10.1016/s2215-0366(20)30569-1.

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

1.22 MB