Abstract:

These presentations took place as part of the 8th Meeting of the International Scientific Board of Experts on ADHD (ISBEA) held on 21 September 2023 in Montpellier, France

Lifestyle factors such as diet and the presence of comorbid conditions can impact the diagnosis, course, and treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Children and adolescents with ADHD may have a different gut microbial composition when compared to neurotypical peers, although studies show a lack of consensus, identifying an urgent need for best practices. Results of TRACE, a dietary intervention study, indicated that long-term dietary treatment cannot fully replace Care As Usual for most children with ADHD and that an elimination diet is not advisable as part of ADHD treatment. Mood disorders are highly comorbid in ADHD, with 40−50% of all adult patients with ADHD having at least one depressive episode in their lifetime. ADHD also negatively affects quality of life and disease course in people with comorbid depression and increases suicidality. The ADHD-Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) phenotype is similar to bipolar depression (BD) and given the higher conversion risk in this phenotype, this might underlie the high comorbidity between ADHD and BD. However, in practice, ADHD is often overlooked in the presence of mood disorders. The high comorbidity of ADHD in MDD and BD suggests a rationale for formal screening and assessment in patients with MDD and BD. Both the mood disorder and ADHD should be adequately treated to improve patients’ lives. Results presented here are from the 8th meeting of the International Scientific Board of Experts on ADHD.

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