ADHD in the News 2026-05-28
First Guidance on Deprescribing Stimulants in Adult ADHD
An expert panel has released the first formal guidance on deprescribing stimulant medications in adults with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, recommendations that come as US stimulant prescribing increased by more than 50% over the past decade with little to no direction on when treatment should be tapered or stopped. The consensus statement, developed by an American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology (ASCP) international task force of 45 psychopharmacology experts, identifies clinical scenarios in which deprescribing warrants consideration, organized into three categories: inadequate efficacy, associated harm, and misuse. It was published online May 20 in European Neuropsychopharmacology.
Global mental disorders have nearly doubled since 1990, now affecting 1.2 billion people worldwide
Key takeaways: Mental disorders are now the leading cause of years lived with disability globally, accounting for more than 17% of all disability worldwide. The highest mental disorder burden is observed among individuals aged 15-19 and women of all ages, driven largely by anxiety and depressive disorders. Mental disorder burden varies widely across countries, with some of the highest levels observed in high-income regions such as Australasia and Western Europe.
Girls with ADHD from deprived backgrounds may face a higher risk of long-term health conditions
Girls from a deprived background who are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be more likely to experience multiple long-term health conditions, or multimorbidity, in adulthood, according to new research.
When ADHD Goes Viral: Social Media and Misinformation (Commentary)
Since the pandemic, the rise of ADHD content on social media has been meteoric, from the emergence of TikTok and short-form videos (anywhere from 15 seconds to 3 minutes) discussing ADHD, to “infographics” on Instagram. In 2021, TikTok videos with #ADHD were at 7.1 billion views. As of July 2023, #ADHD had 28.2 billion views on TikTok and 3.6 million on Instagram. The pandemic itself — with its resulting isolation, disruptions in routine, increased stress, and more time online — led to more claustrophobic self-examination and increased awareness of ADHD.
Rethinking ADHD: Brain scans indicate at least 3 subtypes attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Children who present with the most volatile form of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder have a harder time regulating their emotions than those who don't, researchers say. When overwhelmed, this can lead to full-body tantrums that sometimes result in throwing and breaking things.
I have ADHD. It’s not a deficit for me, it’s a lever. | Your Turn (Opinion)
'I have ADHD, and the reality isn't that it's a deficit at all – it's more like the lever between attentiveness and dreaming is sticky. It gets stuck either in hyperfocus or in no-focus mode.'
When Therapy Misreads Neurodivergent Clients
On the limits of interpretation in therapy.
Mental Health Apps for Students Are Growing. Here’s What Schools Need to Know
Teens are increasingly using AI-powered mental health apps, and there’s an opportunity for schools to leverage this technology to provide more support to their students. But a new risk assessment of the popular technology urges caution for both students and educators.
The Neurocognitive Roots of Boredom in ADHD: a Meta-Analysis
Boredom is more than just feeling restless or under-stimulated. It’s a negative emotional state that arises when activities feel meaningless or dull and, for those with ADHD, this negative emotional state might be markedly more intense. Researchers increasingly view boredom as functional: an internal signal pushing people to seek more rewarding and meaningful experiences. But for some, that signal becomes chronic and overwhelming.
A new AI tool spots hidden signs of adult ADHD months before a formal diagnosis
Scientists have developed a new artificial intelligence tool that can predict whether an adult has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder by looking at their past medical records. The predictive model suggests that subtle patterns in everyday healthcare visits can identify undiagnosed individuals months before a doctor formally spots the condition. This research was recently published in the journal European Psychiatry.
Case of mistaken patterns: Slow brain development linked to ADHD for years might just be sex differences
Figuring out the causes of why children develop attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been on scientists' radar for a few decades now. A common notion that has been around for nearly 20 years is that ADHD is caused by a delayed maturation of the brain's cortex, the outermost layer of gray matter. A recent study challenges this long-held belief. Researchers analyzed more than 26,000 MRI scans from 11,025 adolescents and found that at first the data appeared to show a link between ADHD and slower brain development. However, once the sex differences were accounted for, the connection disappeared, suggesting that previous studies misinterpreted normal developmental differences between males and females for ADHD-related delays.
Brain development patterns predict if childhood ADHD symptoms will fade or persist
Children experiencing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder face symptoms that can persist, emerge, or fade away completely as they grow older. A recent study published in Nature Mental Health revealed that these different symptom paths are physically reflected in how the brain develops during adolescence, specifically in the growth and thinning of certain brain regions.
Prenatal air pollution linked to ADHD symptoms in school-age children, but not clinical diagnosis
A study of children from Tarragona, Spain, found that higher prenatal exposure to air pollution (PM10 and PMcoarse particles, NO2, and NOx gases) was associated with modestly higher teacher-reported ADHD symptom scores in school-age participants. However, the study did not find an association between air pollution exposure and a clinical ADHD diagnosis. The paper was published in Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology.