Adult 注意力缺陷多动症 ranks in the top ten for 心理健康 searches— for good reason.
According to recent statistics reported by 《大发娱乐提供》健康 （2023年8月），超过8.美国有700万成年人.S. have been diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (注意力缺陷多动症). The rate has increased over the last two decades, from 6.1%的美国成年人到10岁.2%. Since 2020, there has been a significant increase in adults seeking treatment for 注意力缺陷多动症.
While it is clearly a hot topic in 2024, experts say it is important to look for the right explanation—not just the easy one.
布劳恩·图勒，PA-C， MS医生的助理 Huntsman Mental Health Institute美国亲眼目睹了这种增长. “仅在过去的两个星期里, more than half of the outpatient patients I have treated have had 注意力缺陷多动症 as a chief complaint or as a co-occurring diagnosis,他说. “That’s an enormous number of people who are struggling with focus and concentration.”
Is COVID-19 to blame for the rise?
In 2024, it’s convenient to blame everything on a national pandemic. 然而, with a tidal wave of new adults presenting with symptoms of 注意力缺陷多动症, Tueller considers the merit of three of COVID-19’s biggest impacts.
- 结构损失. Having structure can be a coping strategy for those who live with undiagnosed 注意力缺陷多动症. Office-bound adults and college students used to the rigidity and supervision of a formal work environment may have felt a profound loss of guardrails. Temptations and distractions aplenty, those dependent upon a formal routine have found it difficult to stay focused and honor work-life boundaries.
- 认知功能障碍. 那些被诊断患有COVID-19的人, 特别是COVID, have struggled with new onset and exacerbated cognitive dysfunction, 说Tueller, who has examined the well-established and growing data on the subject.
- 社交媒体意识. The explosion of 注意力缺陷多动症-related content on social media has resulted in increased awareness of the disorder. This has prompted more people to ask questions about their own lack of attention or impulse control. This was so common that for a while, Tueller was asking patients directly if they had identified their 注意力缺陷多动症 through social media sources. 答案通常是“是的”.”
需要考虑的社会趋势
Tueller considers all theories to explain this rise in 注意力缺陷多动症 diagnoses, from food additives and genetics to a simple increased recognition of the disorder. Additionally, he believes a disconcerting societal tendency may be contributing to the trend. “We’re moving towards a society driven by instant gratification,他说. “病人, 推迟满足感, 未来的规划, and boredom tolerance are disappearing from our behavioral repertoire. In the absence of these things, 注意力缺陷多动症 symptoms will naturally manifest across the age spectrum.”
全面的诊断方法
More awareness and conversations naturally lead to more diagnoses. 然而, Tueller警告, the increased attention is a confounding factor regarding diagnostic clarity.
Tueller aims to holistically learn about his patients. Much of his screening takes place via the patient’s history. 注意力缺陷多动症 is a neurodevelopmental disorder present in childhood, so he asks adult patients questions about early behavioral issues and academic performance to extract clues related to control and attention. When warranted, neuropsychological testing is conducted to better identify the disorder.
研究的重要性
Tueller and others at Huntsman Mental Health Institute have working theories about the relatively new disorder, formally recognized by the American Psychiatric Association in the 1960s:
- Abnormalities related to frontal-subcortical function directly impact a person’s executive function and memory consolidation. From a neurotransmitter standpoint, the monoamine dopamine signaling seems to play a large role in all these functions. When the signaling is decreased or disrupted, an individual is more likely to struggle to focus attention and to encode stimuli into short-term memory.
- Amphetamines and methylphenidate increase signaling of the critical neurotransmitters. 不幸的是, rolling national shortages of 注意力缺陷多动症 medications create new challenges and require providers to spend time calling around to pharmacies and trialing alternate drugs. 病人 are encouraged to plan ahead for refills. Medications alone, however, aren’t Tueller’s only option. He customizes a treatment plan for each patient, utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy for enhanced patient outcomes.
在世界范围内, 需要更多的大脑研究, and funding for complex brain studies is decades behind research for other organs and disorders.
“We are just beginning to have ‘lifers’ in the field—people who were diagnosed and treated for 注意力缺陷多动症 from a young age. These patients provide opportunities to follow the data longitudinally over a lifetime, which can further inform researchers and offer additional hope for patients.”