A large study shows that childhood ADHD is predictive of physical health problems in adulthood.
But there’s more to this than what you might be thinking.
The traits of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder affect kids as well as adults.
ADHD is considered a neurotype, a different kind of brain wiring.
But there are also conditions that mimic the cluster of features that point to ADHD.
This means that sometimes, ADHD can be given as the wrong diagnosis. More on that shortly.
About the Study
Researchers followed almost 11,000 people from birth into middle age and found that those who showed stronger ADHD characteristics at age 10 were more likely to report physical illnesses and disability by their mid-40s.
The research comes from University College London and the University of Liverpool.
It used data from a group of people born in 1970 who’ve been followed over decades.
ADHD traits were measured based on behavior reports from parents and teachers when the participants were 10.
The study wasn’t just focusing on clinical diagnoses.
Even if someone never got an official ADHD label, higher scores on those childhood trait measures were linked with later health outcomes.
More Physical Health Problems in Midlife
By age 46, the people who had higher ADHD traits in childhood were more likely to report multiple physical conditions. These included:
- Back pain
- Diabetes
- Migraines
- Seizure disorder
They also showed higher odds of having two or more chronic conditions compared with those who had fewer ADHD traits as kids.
Those with higher childhood ADHD traits were also more likely to say their physical health interfered with work or daily life.
What can explain this?
Some of the factors the team explored included higher rates of mental health problems, higher body mass index and more smoking among people with stronger ADHD traits.
ADHD that’s not effectively treated can, indeed, lead to poorer mental health.
The social exclusion that may come with it would only make things worse.
Poor mental health, in turn, can put someone at risk for turning to smoking or overconsumption of food as coping mechanisms.
In general, people with poor mental health are also less likely to stick to an exercise regimen.
All of these factors would then, not surprisingly, give rise to physical ailments.
The link was more prevalent in women.
Something Big that this Study Didn’t Investigate
There’s a medical condition that remains one of the most misdiagnosed and delayed diagnosed ailments out there: obstructive sleep apnea.
The impulsivity, poor attention, trouble with focus, difficulty with organizing and poor school performance that typically come with ADHD are also caused by untreated obstructive sleep apnea, says Frank Barnhill, MD, a family physician practicing child and adult preventative care/ADHD-behavior medicine in upstate South Carolina.
“It’s hard to think clearly when your brain is tired,” says Dr. Barnhill.
Sleep apnea causes an overnight shortage of oxygen supply to the brain due to repeated events of disordered breathing caused by a collapsed airway — which can occur even in thin children — due to large tonsils or adenoids, a large tongue base, natural excess of pharyngeal tissue and a naturally narrow airway.
Since the daytime symptoms of OSA share many of those with ADHD, many kids who get an ADHD diagnosis are eventually found to have OSA, says Dr. Barnhill.
So one must wonder just how many of the kids in this long-term study actually had OSA.
Because if they did, and went decades without getting this treated, it could’ve led to some of their later adult health ailments such as migraines and poor physical health interferring with daily and work life.
With all that said, it’s important to remember that many ADHD’ers lead healthy, successful lives.
The findings don’t mean poor outcomes are inevitable, but they do show that health risks can build up over time if needs aren’t met.
In practice for 30+ years, Dr. Barnhill is the author of “Mistaken for ADHD.” He has additional training in Infant, child and adolescent medicine, urgent and emergent medicine, and gerontology. 
