Background: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common psychiatric disorder among children and adolescents that can be continued into adulthood in 30 to 50% of cases. Adult ADHD disorder can affect the performance of an individual and may predispose to drug abuse, alcoholism, smoking, sexual offenses, violation of law, educational and other social problems. The coincidences of this disorder and mood disorders or anxiety disorders are common. Therefore this study was aimed to investigate the prevalence of ADHD in adult patients hospitalized with alcohol poisoning symptoms.
Methods: This cross sectional study was performed for 6 months on 95 patients with alcohol poisoning who were hospitalized in Imam Reza Hospital. The patients were selected by non-random sampling after psychiatric interview and completing the demographic features checklist and the Conners adult attention –deficit/hyperactivity (CAARS-S: OV) questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS-18 software.
Results: The prevalence of adult ADHD was found to be 5.5%. Hyperactivity disorder in adult men was higher than women and likely to be four times higher. Smoking prevalence in the patients was greater than the normal population (3%). Demographic features such as marital status, education level and employment status in these patients had no significant association with the risk of adult ADHD. The incidence of psychiatric disorders, including cluster B personality traits and depression disorder and alcohol abuse in people with adult ADHD who were admitted due to alcohol poisoning, was higher.
Conclusion: ADHD seems to be common among adults with a history of alcohol abuse compared with the normal population. The diagnosis and treatment of hyperactivity disorder in adolescents and adults can play an effective role in the prevention and treatment of serious behavioral problems and psychiatric disorders, including alcohol-related disorders.