Prevalence and Correlates of Self-Reported ADD/ADHD in a Large National Sample of Canadian Adults
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence and correlates of self-reported attention deficit disorder (ADD)/ADHD in Canadian adults. METHOD: Prevalence of self-reported ADD/ADHD was examined in a large national sample of Canadians ( n = 16,957). Demographic variables, lifetime, and current psychiatric comorbidities were then compared in a group of adults with self-reported ADD/ADHD ( n = 488) and an age- and gender-matched control group ( n = 488). RESULTS: The prevalence of self-reported ADD/ADHD was 2.9%. Significantly higher lifetime and current prevalence rates of major depressive disorder, bipolar I and II disorders, generalized anxiety disorder, and substance use disorders were observed in the ADD/ADHD group compared with the control group. Within the ADD/ADHD group, lifetime and 12-month prevalence rates of major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder were significantly higher in women, whereas lifetime and current rates of some substance use disorders were significantly higher in men. CONCLUSION: In a national sample of Canadian adults, self-reported ADD/ADHD was associated with significant psychiatric comorbidity. Gender differences were also noted.
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?
Up to 50-80% of adults with ADHD meet criteria for at least one other psychiatric disorder.
“Up to 50–80% of adults with ADHD meet criteria for at least one other psychiatric disorder”
From ADHD in Adulthood: Clinical Presentation, Comorbidities, and Treatment Perspectives (2025) · cites this paper as [40]
The citation lists haven’t been fetched yet
References 50 · Cited by 56
- Authors
- Hesson, J., & Fowler, K.
- Affiliations
- Memorial University of Newfoundland (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Hesson, Jacqueline
- ORCID
- Fowler, Ken
- Venue
- Journal of Attention Disorders
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2015-03-06
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 191-200
- ISSN
- 1087-0547 (ISSN-L)
- 1557-1246
- OpenAlex
- W2077504455
- Cited by
- 56
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4
- FWCI
- 2.71
- 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
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Keywords
- attention deficit disorder, adult ADHD, prevalence, psychiatric comorbidity, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, substance use disorders, gender differences, Canadian adults
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Canada, Major Depressive Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Major, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, Comorbidity, Prevalence, Substance-Related Disorders, Young Adult, Self Report
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
