Doctors Urged To Screen For ADHD In Addicts

Sunday, March 02, 2014 SPORK! 0 Comments

ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity) disorder is a childhood behavioral disorder that sometimes produces problems well into adulthood. Current evidence indicates that people affected by ADHD have unusually high risks for developing a substance use disorder; however, the estimates of the overlap between ADHD and substance use disorders vary to an extreme degree. In a multinational study published in January 2014 in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, researchers from the U.S. and nine European countries sought to explain this uncommonly high level of variability.

People affected by attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder develop one of three basic symptom sets: difficulty controlling impulsive behaviors and unusually active (i.e., hyperactive) body movements and verbal utterances, difficulty staying focused or maintaining attention, or a combination of attention problems and hyperactivity/impulsivity problems. The condition typically appears in early childhood and its symptoms must remain in effect for at least half a year before an official diagnosis can be made. Underlying contributing causes to the onset of ADHD likely include a fairly complex combination of inherited factors and environmental influences.

Read the full article at Drug Addict Treatment 

(http://www.drugaddictiontreatment.com/types-of-addiction/prescription-drug-addiction/doctors-urged-to-screen-for-adhd-in-addicts/)