Attention‐Deficit‐Hyperactivity Disorder: An Update

Attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neuropsychiatric disorder that impairs social, academic, and occupational functioning in children, adolescents, and adults. In patients with ADHD, neurobiologic research has shown a lack of connectivity in key brain regions, inhibitory control deficits, delayed brain maturation, and noradrenergic and dopaminergic dysfunction in multiple brain regions. The prevalence of this disorder in the United States is 6-9% in youth (i.e., children and adolescents) and 3-5% in adults. Prevalence rates for youth are similar worldwide. Children with ADHD are at greater risk than children without ADHD for substance abuse and delinquency whether or not they receive…