Childhood ADHD found to predict SUDs 10 years later.(attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)(substance use disorders)

Researchers have found that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to develop substance use disorders (SUDs) as young adults than children without ADHD. The study by Timothy E. Wilens, M.D., and colleagues, published on-line last week by the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, looked at various possible predictors, including other psychiatric diagnoses or academic or cognitive problems in the ADHD group, and found that only conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder also predicted SUDs. For the study, 268 children and adolescents with ADHD (mean age 11) and 269 without ADHD (mean age 10) were followed prospectively and …