Screening for ADHD in a general psychiatric sample of adults

Adults (n = 805) seeking outpatient psychiatric care completed the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) and measures of impairment and co-occurring psychopathology as part of a measurement-based care initiative. Diagnostic indicators of ADHD (i.e., formal diagnosis and/or medication treatment) were recorded from the electronic medical record (EMR). Agreement between screening positive for ADHD and EMR indicators for the diagnosis was explored, and clinical characteristics of adults identified with ADHD using these indicators were examined. Lastly, the contribution of ADHD to functional impairment was examined, controlling for the contribution of other demographic and psychiatric comorbidities. In the full sample, 54.78% of adults screened positive for ADHD based on the ASRS, and using EMR indicators, only 11.93% of adults were identified with ADHD. Agreement emerged between self-reported ADHD and ADHD EMR indicators, although adults screening positive for ADHD generally reported greater psychiatric complexity relative to adults identified with ADHD in the EMR. ADHD was associated with clinical impairment even when controlling for other psychiatric comorbidities. The considerable difference in prevalence of ADHD based on self-report screening versus EMR indicators suggests that ADHD may be overlooked in adult psychiatric care. Findings point to the importance of assessing adult ADHD in routine psychiatric care.

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Work Title Screening for ADHD in a general psychiatric sample of adults
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Open Access
Creators
  1. Dara E. Babinski
  2. Erika F.H. Saunders
  3. Fan He
  4. Duanping Liao
  5. Amanda M. Pearl
  6. Daniel A. Waschbusch
Keyword
  1. adult ADHD
  2. attention-deficit
  3. hyperactivity disorder
  4. outpatient
License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Elsevier BV
Publication Date May 2022
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. 10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114524
Source
  1. Psychiatry Research
Deposited August 29, 2022

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Version 1
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  • Created
  • Added Babinski et al (2022 in press) - PCARES adult ADHD-1.pdf
  • Added Creator Dara E. Babinski
  • Added Creator Erika F.H. Saunders
  • Added Creator Fan He
  • Added Creator Duanping Liao
  • Added Creator Amanda M. Pearl
  • Added Creator Daniel A. Waschbusch
  • Published
  • Updated Work Title, Keyword, Description Show Changes
    Work Title
    • Screening for ADHD in a general psychiatric sample of adults
    • ! Screening for ADHD in a general psychiatric sample of adults
    Keyword
    • adult ADHD, attention-deficit, hyperactivity disorder, outpatient
    Description
    • <p>Adults (n = 805) seeking outpatient psychiatric care completed the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) and measures of impairment and co-occurring psychopathology as part of a measurement-based care initiative. Diagnostic indicators of ADHD (i.e., formal diagnosis and/or medication treatment) were recorded from the electronic medical record (EMR). Agreement between screening positive for ADHD and EMR indicators for the diagnosis was explored, and clinical characteristics of adults identified with ADHD using these indicators were examined. Lastly, the contribution of ADHD to functional impairment was examined, controlling for the contribution of other demographic and psychiatric comorbidities. In the full sample, 54.78% of adults screened positive for ADHD based on the ASRS, and using EMR indicators, only 11.93% of adults were identified with ADHD. Agreement emerged between self-reported ADHD and ADHD EMR indicators, although adults screening positive for ADHD generally reported greater psychiatric complexity relative to adults identified with ADHD in the EMR. ADHD was associated with clinical impairment even when controlling for other psychiatric comorbidities. The considerable difference in prevalence of ADHD based on self-report screening versus EMR indicators suggests that ADHD may be overlooked in adult psychiatric care. Findings point to the importance of assessing adult ADHD in routine psychiatric care.</p>
    • Adults (n = 805) seeking outpatient psychiatric care completed the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) and measures of impairment and co-occurring psychopathology as part of a measurement-based care initiative. Diagnostic indicators of ADHD (i.e., formal diagnosis and/or medication treatment) were recorded from the electronic medical record (EMR). Agreement between screening positive for ADHD and EMR indicators for the diagnosis was explored, and clinical characteristics of adults identified with ADHD using these indicators were examined. Lastly, the contribution of ADHD to functional impairment was examined, controlling for the contribution of other demographic and psychiatric comorbidities. In the full sample, 54.78% of adults screened positive for ADHD based on the ASRS, and using EMR indicators, only 11.93% of adults were identified with ADHD. Agreement emerged between self-reported ADHD and ADHD EMR indicators, although adults screening positive for ADHD generally reported greater psychiatric complexity relative to adults identified with ADHD in the EMR. ADHD was associated with clinical impairment even when controlling for other psychiatric comorbidities. The considerable difference in prevalence of ADHD based on self-report screening versus EMR indicators suggests that ADHD may be overlooked in adult psychiatric care. Findings point to the importance of assessing adult ADHD in routine psychiatric care.
  • Updated Work Title Show Changes
    Work Title
    • ! Screening for ADHD in a general psychiatric sample of adults
    • Screening for ADHD in a general psychiatric sample of adults
  • Updated