Persistence of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder into adulthood: What have we learned from the prospective follow-up studies?
Abstract
Objectives: Longitudinal studies of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) into adolescence have all reported high rates of ADHD. However, findings from studies into adulthood are inconsistent. This article reviews factors that may account for disparate rates found in adult follow-ups, and recommends optimal methodologies for prospective studies of children with ADHD in particular and childhood mental disorders in general. Method: Follow-up studies of children with ADHD into adulthood are critically reviewed to identify factors that influence adult ADHD prevalence estimates. Results: Four factors are identified: (1) ascertainment procedure, (2) attrition rate, (3) reporting source, and (4) disorder criteria. Conclusions: Estimates of the proportion of children with ADHD who will experience symptoms of the childhood syndrome in adulthood are likely to vary considerably, as a function of multiple factors. Several recommendations are made for designing future follow-up investigations.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
ADHD is among the most common psychiatric disorders of childhood and persists into adulthood in the majority of cases.
“Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most common psychiatric disorders of childhood that persists into adulthood in the majority of cases.”
From European consensus statement on diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD: The European Network Adult ADHD (2010) · cites this paper as [10]
Follow-up studies show ADHD persists during adolescence and adulthood in around two-thirds of individuals, either as full disorder or partial remission with impairing symptoms.
“Numerous follow-up studies of children with ADHD show that the disorder persists during adolescence and adulthood in around two-thirds of individuals [3-11] either as the full blown disorder or in 'partial remission' with persistence of some symptoms associated with continued clinical and psychosocial impairments.”
From European consensus statement on diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD: The European Network Adult ADHD (2010) · cites this paper as [10]
Cites
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Williams, J. B. W., & First, M. B. (2013) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.104 · Cited by 109,841 · see citing works
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Widiger, T. A. (2000) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1037/10518-009 · Cited by 19,767 · see citing works
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
&NA; (1988) · Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders · doi:10.1097/00002093-198802020-00022 · Cited by 12,603 · see citing works
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Handbook for Diagnosis and Treatment
Barkley, R. A., & Poillion, M. J. (1994) · Behavioral Disorders · doi:10.1177/019874299401900205 · Cited by 4,632 · see citing works
Lr, D., & Derogatis, L. R. (1983) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 2,027 · see citing works
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Handbook for Diagnosis and Treatment
Sprafkin, J. N., & Carlson, G. A. (1992) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.149.9.1266 · Cited by 1,911 · see citing works
(1991) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.148.5.564 · Cited by 1,738 · see citing works
BARKLEY, R. A., FISCHER, M., EDELBROCK, C. S., & SMALLISH, L. (1990) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-199007000-00007 · Cited by 1,507 · see citing works
Mannuzza, S. (1993) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1993.01820190067007 · Cited by 1,368 · see citing works
Self-citationBarkley, R. A., Fischer, M., Smallish, L., & Fletcher, K. (2002) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-843x.111.2.279 · Cited by 1,199 · see citing works
Hyperactive Boys Almost Grown Up: I. Psychiatric Status
Gittelman, R. (1985) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1985.01790330017002 · Cited by 977 · see citing works
Melmed, R. D. (1997) · Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics · doi:10.1097/00004703-199710000-00014 · Cited by 772 · see citing works
Adult psychiatric status of hyperactive boys grown up
Mannuzza, S., Klein, R. G., Bessler, A., Malloy, P., & LaPadula, M. (1998) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.155.4.493 · Cited by 769 · see citing works
Self-citationA Prospective 4-Year Follow-up Study of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity and Related Disorders
Biederman, J. (1996) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1996.01830050073012 · Cited by 768 · see citing works
WEISS, G., HECHTMAN, L., MILROY, T., & PERLMAN, T. (1985) · Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0002-7138(09)60450-7 · Cited by 753 · see citing works
RASMUSSEN, P., & GILLBERG, C. (2000) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-200011000-00017 · Cited by 728 · see citing works
Hyperactive Children Grown Up: ADHD in Children, Adolescents, and Adults
Weiss, G., & Hechtman, L. T. (1993) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 589 · see citing works
Aggregating Data from Multiple Informants in Child Psychiatry Epidemiological Research
Bird, H., Gould, M. S., & STAGHEZZA, B. M. (1992) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-199201000-00012 · Cited by 552 · see citing works
Hyperactive Boys Almost Grown Up: V. Replication of Psychiatric Status
Mannuzza, S. (1991) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1991.01810250079012 · Cited by 549 · cited 1× · see citing works
“At 10-year follow-up (mean age: 18 years old), 94% were assessed (Gittelman et al., 1985; Mannuzza et al., 1991), and at 15-year follow-up (mean age: 25 years old), 85% (n = 176) were interviewed (Mannuzza et al.”
Self-citationHandbook of Disruptive Behavior Disorders
Hogan, A., & Quay, H. C. (1999) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-4881-2 · Cited by 507 · see citing works
Long-term prognosis in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Mannuzza, S., & Klein, R. (2000) · Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/s1056-4993(18)30114-7 · Cited by 395 · see citing works
Self-citationFischer, M., Barkley, R. A., Smallish, L., & Fletcher, K. E. (2002) · Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology · doi:10.1023/a:1019864813776 · Cited by 355 · see citing works
Child psychopathology, 2nd ed.
Mash, E. J., & Barkley, R. A. (2003) · Cited by 354 · see citing works
Educational and occupational outcome of hyperactive boys grown up.
Mannuzza, S., Klein, R., Bessler, A., Malloy, P., & Hynes, M. (1997) · Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-199709000-00014 · Cited by 342 · see citing works
Self-citationStudies on the Hyperactive Child
Weiss, G. (1971) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1971.01750110021004 · Cited by 329 · see citing works
Loeber, R., Green, S. M., Lahey, B. B., & Stouthamer‐Loeber, M. (1991) · Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology · doi:10.1007/bf00910566 · Cited by 304 · see citing works
Weiss, G. (1979) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1979.01780060065007 · Cited by 269 · see citing works
Wells, K. B., Burnam, M. A., LEAKE, B. D., & Robins, L. N. (1988) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3956(88)90006-4 · Cited by 230 · see citing works
Systematic bias in traumatic brain injury outcome studies because of loss to follow-up
Corrigan, J. D., Harrison-Felix, C. L., Bogner, J. A., Dijkers, M. P. J. M., Sendroy-Terrill, M., & Whiteneck, G. G. (2003) · Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1053/apmr.2003.50093 · Cited by 206 · see citing works
Diagnostic interviewing for family studies
Sobin, C. A., Weissman, M. M., Goldstein, R. B., Adams, P. J., WICKRAMARATNE, P. J., Warner, V., & Lish, J. D. (1993) · Psychiatric Genetics · doi:10.1097/00041444-199324000-00005 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Bias resulting from missing information: some epidemiological findings.
Cox, A., Rutter, M. L., Yule, B., & Quinton, D. (1977) · Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health · doi:10.1136/jech.31.2.131 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
Predictors of attrition in a longitudinal cognitive aging study:The Maastricht Aging Study (MAAS)
VANBEIJSTERVELDT, C., VANBOXTEL, M., Bosma, H., Houx, P. J., Buntinx, F., & Jolles, J. (2002) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/s0895-4356(01)00473-5 · Cited by 128 · see citing works
Reliability of the Telephone Interview in Diagnosing Anxiety Disorders
Paulsen, A. S. (1988) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1988.01800250076009 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Characteristics of people lost to attrition in psychiatric follow-up studies
FISCHER, E. H., DORNELAS, E. A., & GOETHE, J. W. (2001) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/00005053-200101000-00009 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Predictors of Attrition in a Longitudinal Study of Substance Abusers
Claus, R. E., Kindleberger, L. R., & Dugan, M. (2002) · Journal of Psychoactive Drugs · doi:10.1080/02791072.2002.10399938 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Adolescent and Adult Outcomes in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Mannuzza, S., & Klein, R. (1999) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-4881-2_12 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Self-citationDo they grow out of it? : long-term outcomes of childhood disorders
Hechtman, L. T. (1996) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Loeber, R., Stouthamer‐Loeber, M., Farrington, D. P., Lahey, B. B., Keenan, K. E., & WHITE, H. R. (2002) · Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health · doi:10.1002/cbm.483 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Non-participation in telephone follow-up interviews.
Marcus, A. C., & Telesky, C. W. (1983) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.73.1.72 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Interviewing adolescents by telephone: Is it a useful methodological strategy?
Reich, W., & Earls, F. J. (1990) · Comprehensive Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/0010-440x(90)90004-c · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Methods to Decrease Attrition in Longitudinal Studies with Adolescents
Epstein, J. A., & Botvin, G. J. (2000) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.2466/pr0.2000.87.1.139 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Hartsough, C. S., Babinski, L. M., & Lambert, N. M. (1996) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1996.tb01462.x · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Toward systems neuroscience of ADHD: a meta-analysis of 55 fMRI studies
Cortese, S., Kelly, C., Chabernaud, C., Proal, E., Di Martino, A., Milham, M. P., & Castellanos, F. X. (2012) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2012.11101521 · Cited by 1,067 · see citing works
Kooij, S. J., Bejerot, S., Blackwell, A., Caci, H., Casas-Brugué, M., Carpentier, P. J., Edvinsson, D., Fayyad, J., Foeken, K., Fitzgerald, M., et al. (2010) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/1471-244x-10-67 · Cited by 928 · see citing works
“Numerous follow-up studies of children with ADHD show that the disorder persists during adolescence and adulthood in around two-thirds of individuals [3-11] either as the full blown disorder or in ‘partial remission’ with persistence of some symptoms associated with continued clinical and psychosocial impairments.”
Collaborators, O. B. O. T. W. W. M. H. S., Fayyad, J., Sampson, N. A., Hwang, I., Adamowski, T., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Al-Hamzawi, A., Andrade, L. H. S. G., Borges, G., de Girolamo, G., et al. (2017) · ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders · doi:10.1007/s12402-016-0208-3 · Cited by 824 · see citing works
Updated European Consensus Statement on diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD
Kooij, J. J. S., Bijlenga, D., Salerno, L., Jaeschke, R., Bitter, I., Balázs, J., Thome, J., Dom, G., Kasper, S., Nunes Filipe, C., et al. (2019) · European Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2018.11.001 · Cited by 686 · see citing works
Lara, C., Fayyad, J., de Graaf, R., Kessler, R. C., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Angermeyer, M., Demytteneare, K., de Girolamo, G., Haro, J. M., Jin, R., et al. (2009) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.10.005 · Cited by 420 · see citing works
Mortality, ADHD, and Psychosocial Adversity in Adults With Childhood ADHD: A Prospective Study
Barbaresi, W. J., Colligan, R. C., Weaver, A. L., Voigt, R. G., Killian, J. M., & Katusic, S. K. (2013) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2012-2354 · Cited by 401 · see citing works
Tic disorders and ADHD: answers from a world-wide clinical dataset on Tourette syndrome
Freeman, R. D., & Tourette Syndrome International Database Consortium (2007) · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s00787-007-1003-7 · Cited by 318 · see citing works
Kessler, R. C., Green, J. G., Adler, L. A., Barkley, R. A., Chatterji, S., Faraone, S. V., Finkelman, M., Greenhill, L. L., Gruber, M. J., Jewell, M., et al. (2010) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.146 · Cited by 317 · see citing works
Developmental comorbidity in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Taurines, R., Schmitt, J., Renner, T., Conner, A. C., Warnke, A., & Romanos, M. (2010) · ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders · doi:10.1007/s12402-010-0040-0 · Cited by 198 · see citing works
Cortese, S., Imperati, D., Zhou, J., Proal, E., Klein, R. G., Mannuzza, S., Ramos-Olazagasti, M. A., Milham, M. P., Kelly, C., & Castellanos, F. X. (2013) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.02.025 · Cited by 127 · see citing works
Self-citationHalperin, J. M., Marks, D. J., Bedard, A.-C. V., Chacko, A., Curchack, J. T., Yoon, C. A., & Healey, D. M. (2013) · Journal of Attention Disorders · doi:10.1177/1087054711435681 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Adult ADHD and Substance Abuse: Diagnostic and Treatment Issues
Kalbag, A. S., & Levin, F. R. (2005) · Substance Use & Misuse · doi:10.1080/10826080500294858 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Comparison of the burden of illness for adults with ADHD across seven countries: a qualitative study
Brod, M., Pohlman, B., Lasser, R., & Hodgkins, P. (2012) · Health and Quality of Life Outcomes · doi:10.1186/1477-7525-10-47 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
TODD, R. D., HUANG, H., TODOROV, A. A., NEUMAN, R. J., REIERSEN, A. M., HENDERSON, C. A., & REICH, W. C. (2008) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/chi.0b013e31815a6aca · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Improving interference control in ADHD patients with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
Breitling, C., Zaehle, T., Dannhauer, M., Bonath, B., Tegelbeckers, J., Flechtner, H.-H., & Krauel, K. (2016) · Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fncel.2016.00072 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Bramham, J., Murphy, D. G. M., Xenitidis, K., Asherson, P., Hopkin, G., & Young, S. (2012) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291712000219 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Responsiveness of the Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Quality of Life Scale (AAQoL)
Matza, L. S., Johnston, J. A., Faries, D. E., Malley, K. G., & Brod, M. (2007) · Quality of Life Research · doi:10.1007/s11136-007-9254-9 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Dramsdahl, M., Westerhausen, R., Haavik, J., Hugdahl, K., & Plessen, K. J. (2012) · Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging · doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.08.005 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Cognitive Control and Attentional Selection in Adolescents with ADHD Versus ADD
Carr, L., Henderson, J., & Nigg, J. T. (2010) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1080/15374416.2010.517168 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Francx, W., Zwiers, M. P., Mennes, M., Oosterlaan, J., Heslenfeld, D., Hoekstra, P. J., Hartman, C. A., Franke, B., Faraone, S. V., O'Dwyer, L., et al. (2015) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.12379 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Wang, H., Li, F., Miao, M., Yu, Y., Ji, H., Liu, H., Huang, R., Obel, C., Zhang, J., & Li, J. (2020) · Human Reproduction · doi:10.1093/humrep/deaa035 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
- Authors
- Mannuzza, S., Klein, R. G., & Moulton, J. L.
- Affiliations
- Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research (US)
- NYU Langone Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Mannuzza, Salvatore
- Venue
- Journal of Attention Disorders
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2003-11
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 93-100
- ISSN
- 1087-0547 (ISSN-L)
- 1557-1246
- OpenAlex
- W2085962221
- Cited by
- 178
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 21
- FWCI
- 2.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Attention Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Keywords
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, adult ADHD, prospective follow-up study, attrition, diagnostic criteria, child psychopathology, study design recommendations
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Child, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Prospective Studies, Incidence, Prevalence
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
