Psychiatric Comorbidity at the Time of Diagnosis in Adults With ADHD: The CAT Study.
The CAT (Comorbilidad en Adultos con TDAH) study aimed to quantify and characterize the psychiatric comorbidity at the time of diagnosis of ADHD in adult outpatients.



Cross-sectional, multicenter, observational register of adults with ADHD diagnosed for the first time.



In this large sample of adult ADHD (n = 367), psychiatric comorbidities were present in 66.2% of the sample, and were more prevalent in males and in the hyperactive-impulsive and combined subtypes. The most common comorbidities were substance use disorders (39.2%), anxiety disorders (23%), and mood disorders (18.1%). In all, 88.8% patients were prescribed pharmacological treatment for ADHD (in 93.4% of cases, modified release methylphenidate capsules 50:50).



A high proportion of psychiatric comorbidity was observed when adult outpatients received a first-time diagnosis of ADHD. The systematic registering of patients and comorbidities in clinical practice may help to better understand and manage the prognostic determinants in adult ADHD.
Hospital de Terrassa (Consorci Sanitari CST), Servicio de Psiquiatría, Terrassa (Barcelona), Spain.
Benjamín
B
Piñeiro-Dieguez
Servicio de Psiquiatría, Hospital Universitari Doctor Peset, Universitat de València, FISABIO, CIBERSAM, Valencia, Spain.
Vicent
V
Balanzá-Martínez
Department of Biomedical Science (Area of Pharmacology), University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain pigargarcia@gmail.com.
Pilar
P
García-García
Medical DepartmentD, E-C-BIO S.L. Madrid, Spain.
Begoña
B
Soler-López
D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010045:Outpatients; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*
D008774:Methylphenidate
ADHD treatment; adulthood; outcome; psychiatric comorbidity; register