Older adults with ADHD are at a greater risk of traffic tickets and car crashes than their counterparts without the condition.

Researchers in five states across the US studied more than 2,800 adults between 65 and 79 years old, of which 75 had been diagnosed with ADHD. They found adults with the condition were more than twice as likely to get a traffic ticket and 74 percent more likely to get into a car accident. 

Based on their findings, the researchers called for better treatment options for older adults with ADHD, which affects more than 40 million Americans and has led to twice as many prescriptions for medications to treat the condition, like Adderall in recent years. 

‘These findings suggest that effective interventions to improve the diagnosis and clinical management of ADHD among older adults are warranted to promote safe mobility and healthy aging,’ the study authors wrote. 

Older adults with ADHD were more than twice as likely to get a parking ticket and three-quarters more likely to get into a car crash than their counterparts without the condition

Older adults with ADHD were more than twice as likely to get a parking ticket and three-quarters more likely to get into a car crash than their counterparts without the condition

Older adults with ADHD were more than twice as likely to get a parking ticket and three-quarters more likely to get into a car crash than their counterparts without the condition

Prescriptions for Adderall surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2020, just before the virus erupted across America, the drug made up 1.1% of drugs. By September 2022, the figure had more than doubled to 2.31% of all scripts written

Prescriptions for Adderall surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2020, just before the virus erupted across America, the drug made up 1.1% of drugs. By September 2022, the figure had more than doubled to 2.31% of all scripts written

Prescriptions for Adderall surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2020, just before the virus erupted across America, the drug made up 1.1% of drugs. By September 2022, the figure had more than doubled to 2.31% of all scripts written

Researchers recruited 2,232 drivers ages 65 to 79 between 2015 and 2017 in five areas: Aurora, Colorado; Ann Arbor, Michigan; San Diego, California; Baltimore, Maryland; and Cooperstown, New York. Women made up 53 percent of the study population, while men made up 47 percent. 

Of the participants, 41.6 percent were 65 to 69 years old, 34.8 percent were 70 to 74 years old, and 23.6 percent were 75 to 79 years old. The 75 adults with ADHD made up 2.6 percent of the study population. In addition, 11.3 percent reported having anxiety, while 19.8 percent had depression.

The researchers found older adults with ADHD had a 102 percent increased risk of self-reported traffic tickets and a 74 percent greater likelihood of self-reported car crashes. They were also seven percent more likely to report hard braking, or slamming on the brakes with little warning.

They said this could be due to adults with ADHD being more impatient and paying less attention. 

A limitation of the study was that it was based solely on participants self-reporting, which could have led to bias and inaccurate results. The researchers also did not know how severe each participant’s ADHD symptoms were. 

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common disorder that is typically diagnosed in childhood, but recent years have seen an increase in adult diagnoses.

Neuroscientists have not pinned down a cause for ADHD, though genetics is believed to play a major role. 

The primary symptoms of ADHD, which typically manifest before age 12, include inattention and hyperactive-impulsive behavior. People with ADHD may be continuously fidgety, unable to concentrate on a given task, talk excessively, interrupt others and be easily distracted, among other symptoms. 

However, the researchers of the new study said older undiagnosed individuals are more likely to have their symptoms ignored.

‘Issues of underdiagnosis and treatment of ADHD in older adults still exist. Challenges of diagnoses include late emergence of obvious symptoms in adulthood and recall bias of childhood-onset symptoms in older adults,’ the team wrote.

They also said that conditions diagnosed later in life, such as dementia, could have similar symptoms to ADHD. 

Stimulants are the most commonly used medications for ADHD because they increase levels of dopamine, a neurochemical key to concentration and sustained focus.

Medications work by slowing down how much dopamine is reabsorbed back into the neuron that produced it in the first place.

By slowing down the reuptake of dopamine, the neurotransmitter has more time to travel from neuron to neuron, relaying information and eventually binding to a receptor, thus helping messages within the brain be more effectively transmitted and received.

This improves communication in parts of the brain that produce dopamine and norepinephrine, a chemical that helps a person stay awake, pay attention, and think clearly.

ADHD medications are overall effective and, in many cases, are crucial to people’s academic and social success and development. Between 70 and 80 percent of patients on ADHD medications experience fever or more mild symptoms.

The most popular ADHD medications are Adderall and Ritalin. 

The rate of women in their twenties filling prescriptions for ADHD medications such as Adderall spiked nearly 20 percent from 2020 to 2021, while that rate among adult men aged 30 to 39 jumped nearly 15 percent.

The pandemic boom in new prescriptions has contributed to an ongoing nationwide shortage of Adderall, which has left children unable to concentrate and behave in school, according to parents across the US.

This is not the first study to examine the effects of ADHD on driving. Research published in JAMA Psychiatry in 2017 found that car accidents dropped by 38 percent for medicated men with the condition and 42 percent for medicated women. 

The authors also found that one out of five car crashes could have been prevented if patients with ADHD had received their medication.

The new study was published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Open Network.  

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk

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