The role of a lifetime history of oppositional defiant and conduct disorders in adults with ADHD: implications for clinical practice.
BACKGROUND
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and conduct disorder (CD) are frequently co-occurring disorders in children and adolescents. However, their clinical status among adults is still under discussion. This study analyzes how the current clinical presentation of adult ADHD might be influenced by a lifetime history of CD and ODD.


METHODS
We compared three groups of patients: ADHD without history of CD/ODD (n = 178), ADHD + history of ODD (n = 184), and ADHD + history of CD (n = 96).


RESULTS
A history of CD (and to a lower extent ODD) is associated with a more severe and externalizing profile.


CONCLUSIONS
Past CD and ODD entail a significant negative mental health impact on persistent ADHD, reinforcing the importance of actively assessing the developmental history of adult ADHD patients.
ADHD Outpatient Program-Adult Division, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Eduardo S
ES
Vitola
Carlos A I
CA
Salgado
Katiane L
KL
Silva
Rafael G
RG
Karam
Marcelo M
MM
Victor
Nina R
NR
Mota
Verônica
V
Contini
Felipe A
FA
Picon
Paula O
PO
Guimarães-da-Silva
Rafael S
RS
Giordani
Luis A
LA
Rohde
Paulo
P
Belmonte-de-Abreu
Claiton H D
CH
Bau
Eugenio H
EH
Grevet
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D001938:Brazil; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D044465:White People