As 2015 comes to a close, Healio.com/Psychiatry took a moment to review the top stories regarding attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder throughout the year. They include studies on pharmacologic treatment for ADHD, onset of the disorder in adults, connections between ADHD and obesity, FDA news and more.

Most likely you’ve heard of ADHD, but you might not realize that the condition can affect adults as well as kids. In fact, many adults have ADHD but do not know it. In the United States, ADHD affects 4.1 percent of adults, with 41.3 percent of those cases classified as “severe,” according to the National…

Although Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is not as visible in adults, its consequences are more serious. “A child forgets to hand in homework. An adult loses a job,” says one psychiatrist. Matt Turcotte, 28, has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and is learning how to live with the disorder.

By most measures, rates of both legal and illegal prescription stimulants like Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta, and Vyvanse continue to rise or remain stable for everyone from young children to adults in the workplace. For people with ADHD, these drugs can be lifesavers. But before you jump on the bandwagon, here are some facts about Adderall…

More than six million children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with ADHD, also known as attention deficit hyperactive disorder.Researchers at Yale University say brain scans helped them identify certain patterns that predicted a person’s ability to stay focused.

Interactions between three brain networks that help people pay attention are weaker than normal in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The degree of weakness was correlated to the severity of the children’s inattention symptoms, the researchers found.

Childhood ADHD is a major public health problem with prevalence estimates of over 5 million children in the US alone…An especially alarming trend is the identification of adverse outcomes among preschool children with ADHD. Even when children with ADHD are identified and treated in the preschool years, symptoms and functional difficulties continue throughout the elementary…

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is often thought of a boy thing…A study published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry on Tuesday shows a surprising 55 percent increase in prevalence of diagnoses among girls — from 4.7 percent to 7.3 percent from 2003 to 2011.

ADHD cases in Hispanic children have risen by as much as 83 percent in the past decade, a recent report has said. The increase in the number was reported by a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology. It was reported by Fox News Latino that between 2003 and 2011, the number of…

Teens who use abuse prescription drugs such as narcotic painkillers are more likely to have sex or to participate in risky sexual behaviors, a new study suggests…The study looked at a variety of prescription drugs that might be used recreationally by teens. These included the prescription painkillers Oxycontin, Vicodin, Percocet or codeine; sedatives such as…

Media reports on the subject have often adopted a position of over diagnosis and over prescribing but the evidence does not stack up. UK health watchdog the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence estimates that ADHD affects 5% of the childhood population, yet diagnostic prevalence fluctuates between 3% and 5% depending on which part…

A new study provides some of the strongest evidence yet that using an antidepressant like Prozac, Paxil or Zoloft during the final two trimesters of pregnancy may be linked to a higher risk of autism spectrum disorder for the child…The JAMA Pedatrics research adds to the growing number of studies about antidepressant and developmental delays,…