In this issue of Psychiatric Annals, we will present four articles summarizing issues in the development of United States (US) guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The American Professional Society of ADHD (APSARD) is currently in the process of developing such guidelines, which will be the first such recommendations for US clinicians treating adults with the disorder. Of note, there are multiple US guidelines for childhood ADHD, including those from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Multiple international organizations have developed guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, including adult ADHD, such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE; United Kingdom) and the Australian ADHD Professionals Association (AADPA). These guidelines outside the US particularly highlight the need for guidelines for adults in the US. Furthermore, such guidelines are important for both patients and clinicians as: (1) adult ADHD is often undiagnosed and untreated, at significant cost to the patient and to society; and (2) the guidelines will provide the latest evidence available to clinicians caring for patients with adult ADHD so that they and their patients can make the most informed decisions.

This issue starts with an article by Dr. Deepti Anbarasan and colleagues that reviews the development of quality measures for adult ADHD as a step along the way toward creating guidelines. Dr. David Goodman and Dr. Greg Mattingly then discuss the process of guideline development in the second article. The third article, by Dr. Thomas J. Spencer and colleagues, describes the process of conflict-of-interest management in the development of adult ADHD guidelines. The issue concludes with an article from Dr. Ann Childress and colleagues on the importance of the development of US guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD.

 Watch the teaser video to learn more: NYT article 052024 teaser video.mp4

Read the full statement:

https://journals.healio.com/doi/10.3928/00485713-20230911-06  

The first ever U.S. clinical guidelines to diagnose and treat adult ADHD are expected to be released this fall. The guidelines are being developed by the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders (APSARD) due to a lack of existing standards and to improve accuracy of diagnosis and treatment. Experts believe the guidelines will help clinicians, especially primary care physicians, better diagnose and treat adult ADHD, and dispel myths surrounding the disorder.

For more details on the reasons behind the guideline development and the challenges of diagnosing adult ADHD, read the full article here: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/first-us-adult-adhd-guidelines-finally-way-2024a10006yf?form=fpf

A recent study published in the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Biotechnology Information investigated racial bias in how children are diagnosed with ADHD. Researchers looked at data from nearly 4,000 children undergoing neuropsychological evaluations at an outpatient clinic. The study found that teachers were more likely to rate Black children as having more inattentive symptoms and conduct problems compared to White children, regardless of whether the child was actually diagnosed with ADHD.

This study highlights the importance of considering potential racial bias in ADHD diagnoses.

To learn more about the details of this study, check out the full article here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8985113/