Men with ADHD as kids do much worse later

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NEW YORK, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Men diagnosed as children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder had worse educational, occupational, economic and social outcomes, U.S. researchers say.

Rachel G. Klein of the Child Study Center at the New York University's Langone Medical Center and colleagues said the study involved 135 white men with ADHD in childhood, free of conduct disorder and a comparison group of 136 men without childhood ADHD. Study follow-up was an average 41 years.

"On average, the men with ADHD had 2.5 fewer years of schooling than comparison participants, 31.1 percent did not complete high school versus 4.4 percent of the control group and only 3.7 percent had higher degrees versus 29.4 percent of comparison participants," Klein said in a statement.

Similarly, the ADHD men had significantly lower occupational attainment levels, the study said

"Given the men with ADHD's had worse educational and occupational attainment, their relatively poorer socioeconomic status was expected," Klein said. "Although significantly fewer than comparison participants were employed, 83.7 percent had jobs. However, the disparity of $40,000 between the median annual salary of employed men with ADHD and employed men in the control group was striking."

The findings were published Online First in Archives of General Psychiatry.