Overview of epidemiology, clinical features, genetics, neurobiology, and prognosis of adolescent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
ADHD is a common neurobehavioral disorder that is highly heritable. Recent research has identified several genes that are associated with ADHD. In addition, there are several biological factors that are environmentally derived that appear to play a role in the etiology of ADHD. It is quite clear that ADHD begins in childhood, but persists into adolescence and adulthood for the majority of individuals. Since the criteria for the diagnosis of ADHD are most applicable to children, making the diagnosis in adolescents requires an understanding of how these symptoms are expressed in this age group. The prognosis of ADHD is variable and depends on several psychosocial factors, with approximately 20% of adolescents who perform well in social, emotional, and educational domains, another 20% who perform poorly in these domains, and the majority who perform somewhere in the middle.
Schubiner
Howard
H
Department of Internal Medicine, Providence Hospital, 1600 W. Nine Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48075, USA. howard.schubiner@stjohn.org
Katragadda
Sreenivas
S
D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis