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Objective: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder primarily associated with childhood, yet it has become increasingly clear that ADHD continues to impair many domains of functioning in adulthood. The aim of this study was to compare the neuropsychological profile of adult ADHD and other psychiatric disorders against a healthy control group.
Methods: Thirty-three patients, who were being followed with the diagnosis of adult ADHD and newly diagnosed with adult ADHD aged between 18-65 years old (group I), 33 psychiatric outpatients for whom the diagnosis of ADHD was excluded (group II) and thirty-three healthy controls (group III) matched in age and education level with the patient groups were included in this study. The patients with mental retardation, agitation and psychotic symptoms that hinder orientation to the assessment, with diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder or other psychotic disorders, and with severe neurological or physical diseases in the clinical evaluation were excluded. Participants were assessed with a neuropsychological battery consisting of WKST, Stroop, Rey Verbal Learning tests.
Results: The ADHD patients group performed significantly worse in Stroop test trials 3-4-5 and REY Trials 1-5, with delayed recall and recognition variables than the healthy control group and and the psychiatric outpatients. There is no significant difference between the psychiatric outpatients and healthy control group, in WKST for non-perseverative false, persevarative false variables, REY Trials 1-5 total recall, delayed recall and recognition variables and stroop test trial 5.
Discussion: The findings of this study suggest that adult ADHD had disease-specific impairment in neurocognitive functions as apparently distinct from the healthy population and other psychiatric diseases.