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Healthcare utilization and costs of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities associated with newly diagnosed adult ADHD
Author(s) -
GarciaArgibay Miguel,
Pandya Ekta,
Ahnemark Ewa,
WernerKiechle Tamara,
Andersson Lars Magnus,
Larsson Henrik,
Du Rietz Ebba
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/acps.13297
Subject(s) - medicine , psychiatry , medical prescription , health care , comorbidity , population , inpatient care , pediatrics , environmental health , economics , economic growth , pharmacology
Background Psychiatric and somatic problems in young adulthood have been found to be main drivers of costs in individuals with childhood ADHD. However, knowledge of the patterns of healthcare utilization and costs of comorbidities in middle‐aged adults with newly diagnosed ADHD is very limited. Method We studied individuals born 1966–1978 (from the Swedish Total Population Register) with newly diagnosed ADHD between the ages of 30–45 years and individuals without ADHD matched on birthdate, birth county, and sex. Healthcare utilization and expenditure for psychiatric and somatic disorders were obtained over four years (two years pre‐ and post‐initial ADHD diagnosis). Results Middle‐aged adults with newly diagnosed ADHD showed higher levels of healthcare utilization and costs (outpatient, inpatient, medications) for psychiatric and somatic comorbidities relative to adults without ADHD, both before and after the initial diagnosis. Females showed greater average group differences across the study period for medication prescriptions than males. Total incremental annual costs per capita were €2478.76 in adults with ADHD relative to those without, and costs were mainly driven by inpatient care. Psychiatric outpatient visits were statistically significantly higher the year before the ADHD diagnosis compared with two years before and after the diagnosis. Conclusion This study demonstrates the substantial burden of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities in middle‐aged adults newly diagnosed with ADHD. Psychiatric outpatient visits peaked in the year leading up to the ADHD diagnosis. Findings further suggested that females with ADHD may seek more treatment for comorbidities than males, which may reflect a general female tendency.