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Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Older Adults: Prevalence and Possible Connections to Mild Cognitive Impairment

  • Attention-Deficit Disorder (R Bussing, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Attentional deficits are frequently seen in isolation as the presenting sign and symptom of neurodegenerative disease, manifest as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Persistent ADHD in the geriatric population could well be misconstrued as MCI, leading to the incorrect assumption that such persons are succumbing to a neurodegenerative disease process. Alternatively, the molecular, neuroanatomic, or neurochemical abnormalities seen in ADHD may contribute to the development of de novo late life neurodegenerative disease. The present review examines the issue of causality vs confound regarding the association of ADHD with MCI, suggesting that both are tenable hypotheses.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by funding from National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging 1 P30 AG028383, National Institutes of Health LRP 1L30 AG032934, and the Sanders-Brown Foundation.

Disclosure

N. Ivanchak: none; K. Fletcher: none; G. A. Jicha: consultant to Eli Lilly and Pfizer, and grants from National Institute on Aging and National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology and the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA

    Nikki Ivanchak, Kristen Fletcher & Gregory A. Jicha

  2. Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, Room 223, 800 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA

    Gregory A. Jicha

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  1. Nikki Ivanchak
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  3. Gregory A. Jicha
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Correspondence to Gregory A. Jicha.

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Ivanchak, N., Fletcher, K. & Jicha, G.A. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Older Adults: Prevalence and Possible Connections to Mild Cognitive Impairment. Curr Psychiatry Rep 14, 552–560 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-012-0305-8

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