[Psychiatric and neuropsychological characterization of a group of adults referred to a university outpatient clinic for ADHD].

Background: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has always been classified as a psychiatric disorder of childhood. Very little research has been done into the nature of adult ADHD.

Aim: To obtain insight into the clinical profile of a group of adults referred to an outpatient clinic for diagnostic assessment of ADHD.

Method: A group of 225 adults diagnosed with ADHD were studied and compared with 101 adults who had been referred to the same outpatient clinic but had been given a different diagnosis. All referred patients were diagnosed according to dsm-iv criteria for ADHD and underwent neuropsychological tests.

Results: The diagnosis of ADHD was confirmed in 69% of the patients. In the ADHD group 72% were male and the average age was 32. Half of these patients had a co-morbid disorder. The 2 groups did not differ in psychopathology but the ADHD group used nicotine and alcohol more frequently. Neuropsychological tests revealed more signs of subjective distractibility in the non-ADHD group, whereas in the objective tests it was the ADHD group who gave a poorer performance.

Conclusion: This study describes the clinical profile of a group of adults referred to an outpatient clinic for ADHD. The ADHD group differed from the non-ADHD group in a number of demographical, psychiatric and neuropsychological parameters.