Functioning of Young Adults With ADHD in the Military.

To assess the functioning of young adults with ADHD in a military setting. In all, 14,655 young adults with ADHD (mean age at first examination 17.8 ± 0.7) attending mandatory service in the Israeli military were compared with matched controls on several functioning domains. Young adults with ADHD had more sessions with mental health care professionals, physician appointments, sick days, and disqualifications of professions than controls ( < .001). Young adults with ADHD were also less medically fit for combat service (odds ratio [OR] = 0.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.72, 0.79]), more medically unfit for military service in general (OR = 1.26, 95% CI = [1.13, 1.40]), and had higher rates of overweight and obesity ( < .001). In addition, they were more likely to be diagnosed with a personality disorder (OR = 1.29, 95% CI = [1.07, 1.53]) or with minor affective and anxiety disorders (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = [1.06, 1.67]) than matched controls. These results support a negative effect of ADHD on the functioning of young adults in a military setting.