New Research: Undiagnosed ADHD Linked to High-Risk Driving in Adults After Traffic Accidents

 ADHD in the News 2026-05-21


San Francisco — New research presented today at the American Psychiatric Association’s Annual Meeting finds that a substantial proportion of adults hospitalized after traffic accidents may have undiagnosed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which has been associated with significantly riskier driving behaviors. In a cross-sectional study of 95 adults hospitalized for traffic-related injuries in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 34.7% of participants screened positive for ADHD despite no prior diagnosis. Those who screened positive were more likely to engage in dangerous driving behaviors, with 66.6% falling into a high-risk driving category, compared with 30.6% of those without ADHD symptoms.