title: The unmet needs of all adults with ADHD are not the same: a focus on Europe.
abstract: This review discusses the unmet needs in adult ADHD subgroups in Europe: adolescents in transition, adult patients, employees, older adults, and those in the criminal justice system. Analysis of the literature and an ADHD web forum was conducted. The visibility of adult ADHD remains low, and finding professionals able to diagnose is difficult for both adolescents as well as adults. Many ADHD cases go undiagnosed and untreated; ADHD may be mistaken for other common mental health conditions or missed in the presence of comorbidities. Pharmacological and psychosocial treatment services are very limited. Most employers do not understand how to address ADHD, and employees fear stigmatization. Older age individuals (>60 years) may feel worse with unrecognized ADHD, and those incarcerated with ADHD are likely to cost disproportionately more than their peers, with high recidivism rates. Strategies to address unmet needs and accommodate ADHD adults need not be expensive or time consuming to implement.
authors.affiliation: Karolinska Institutet - Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, PO 281, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ylva
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ginsberg
authors.forename: Kathleen Marie
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Beusterien
authors.forename: Kaitlan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Amos
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jousselin
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Asherson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans
keywords: Europe; adolescents; adult ADHD; health services; unmet needs