Prevalence and Clinical Profile of Adults with ADHD Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital for Five Years

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Apr 29;21(5):566. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21050566.

Abstract

(1) Objectives: This study aimed to assess the 5-year prevalence and clinical profile of attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) among adult patients seeking care in a tertiary care hospital in Oman. (2) Methods: The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics and standardised prevalence estimates were calculated. (3) Results: Of the 39,881 hospital visits, 1.77% were made by adults with ADHD. This is equivalent to 17.8 visits per 1000 outpatients. The year 2021 saw the highest prevalence among the five years considered, while 2020 had the lowest prevalence. Although the age distribution indicated that the age group 'under 20' had the highest prevalence, the gender distribution showed that ADHD was more common among adult men. Among the various subtypes of ADHD, inattention was the most common. (4) Conclusions: This study specifically compared the prevalence and associated factors between an adult cohort with ADHD and those other psychiatric clinic attendees during the same period. The study offers important information on the prevalence and clinical profile of adults with ADHD in the population under consideration.

Keywords: adult ADHD; age and sex differences; prescription patterns; regional variations; standardised prevalence estimates; subtype and comorbidities; temporal trends; tertiary hospital.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Oman / epidemiology
  • Prevalence
  • Tertiary Care Centers* / statistics & numerical data
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.