title: Association between obesity and adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in a German community-based sample.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal of the present study was to examine the association between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obesity in a representative community based sample of the German population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 1,633 German residents (53.6% female) aged 18-64 years. A retrospective assessment of childhood ADHD and a self-report assessment of adult ADHD were administered for diagnosis of adult ADHD. In addition, binge eating and purging behaviors as well as depression and anxiety were assessed using self-rating instruments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The estimated prevalence of ADHD in obese participants was 9.7% compared to 3.8% in overweight and 4.3% in under-/normal-weight participants. The prevalence of obesity was 22.1% among adults with ADHD and 10.2% among persons without ADHD. Adult ADHD was significantly associated with a greater likelihood of being obese but not overweight even after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Results were similar when adjusting for depression and anxiety symptoms and for purging behaviors. Odds ratios decreased after adjusting for binge eating; however, the results were still significant which shows that the relationship between obesity and ADHD in adulthood is not fully explained by binge eating.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, the results indicate that adult ADHD is associated with obesity in a community-based sample of the adult German population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. martina.dezwaan@uk-erlangen.de
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Zwaan
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gruss
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Philipsen
authors.forename: Holmer
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Graap
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Heide
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Glaesmer
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hilbert
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D050177:Overweight / Q000150:complications; D015995:Prevalence; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D057566:Self Report; D013851:Thinness / Q000150:complications*; D055815:Young Adult