ADHD Was Linked To 34 Of 35 Physical Health Issues In A Huge Study

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition best known for affecting people’s focus. But some researchers think it might be linked to symptoms and even health issues outside of the brain, too.

For instance, people with ADHD are almost twice as likely as those without the condition to have a connective tissue disorder, like hypermobility (being able to move your joints or body parts outside of their usual range), Ehlers-Danlos and Marfan syndrome, and inflammatory conditions like lupus. 

It’s been linked to greater odds of facing gut issues like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), constipation, and diarrhoea, too. 

In fact, a massive Swedish sibling study which included people born from 1932-1995 and involved nearly five million participants found that “adults with ADHD had increased risk for most physical conditions (34 [97%] of 35) compared with adults without ADHD”. 

Which physical health conditions were linked to ADHD in the study? 

To be clear, this association doesn’t mean that ADHD causes health conditions. It just means those with the neurodivergence were more likely to experience them than those who are neurotypical – and that could be down to other factors, which may or many not even be related to ADHD. 

Additionally, the associations weren’t all equally strong. ADHD was most highly linked to alcohol-related liver disease (4.7x more likely), sleep disorders (4.62x more likely), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (3.24x more likely), epilepsy (2.99x more likely), and fatty liver disease (2.94x more likely). 

Overall, the 34 conditions that people with ADHD were more likely to face were: 

1. Hypertension (high blood pressure), 
2. Ischaemic heart disease, 
3. Pulmonary (lung) disease, 
4. Atrial fibrillation, 
5. Heart failure, 
6. Stroke, 
7. Peripheral vascular disease, 
8. Type 1 diabetes, 
9. Type 2 diabetes, 
10. Thyroid disorders, 
11. Obesity, 
12. Gout, 
13. Coeliac disease, 
14. Ulcer or chronic gastritis, 
15. Acute appendicitis, 
16. Fatty liver disease,
17. Alcohol-related liver disease, 
18. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), 
19. Gallstone disease, 
20. Glomerular disease (which affects the kidneys), 
21. Urolithiasis (e.g. kidney stones), 
22. Kidney infections, 
23. Arthrosis (e.g. osteoarthritis), 
24. Connective tissue disease, 
25. Dorsalgia (back pain), 
26. Parkinson’s disease, 
27. Dementia,
28. Epilepsy, 
29. Migraine, 
30. Sleep disorders, 
31. Asthma,
32. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 
33. Eczema, 
34. Psoriasis. 

The only condition for which people with ADHD did not seem to face a higher risk in this study was rheumatoid arthritis.

Does that mean I’ll definitely get these conditions if I have ADHD? 

Dr Claudia Aymerich, a consultant psychiatrist at Berkeley Psychiatrists, stressed this doesn’t mean people with ADHD will definitely develop these conditions.

“The study shows that, on average, adults with ADHD have higher chances of developing certain physical conditions compared to adults without ADHD. This does not mean any one person will definitely go on to develop them,” she told HuffPost UK.

The expert added: “These figures are also relative, not absolute. Some of the conditions with the highest ratios, such as alcohol-related liver disease and fatty liver disease, affected only around 0.2% and 0.1% of people in the study overall, so although a higher likelihood is accurate, it is a very small number of people.”

Also, this study only showed a link between ADHD and some physical health issues. It doesn’t definitely show that one caused the other.

“The bigger picture here is that ADHD is not something that just affects attention. It is a condition that touches almost every part of a person’s life, including how the brain manages motivation, reward, and stress,” Dr Aymerich continued.

“Those are biological differences, not choices, and living with them can mean years of added stress, poor sleep, and difficulty keeping up the routines that protect health… That does not mean people with ADHD will develop these conditions. It means the way the ADHD brain works makes them more susceptible to the things that lead to physical conditions.”

How can I lower my risk of these physical health issues if I have ADHD? 

Genes play a huge role in everyone’s health, Dr Aymerich said, and people with ADHD are no exception. But we still have ways of lowering our risk of developing certain conditions, she added.

Eating healthily, getting enough exercise, and sleeping well can all help. But those with ADHD can struggle with “executive functioning”, which can make achieving these goals harder.

So, the psychologist said, those with the condition need to take the hard parts out of their routine where they can. 

She suggested trying the following steps:

• Using pre-chopped vegetables, healthy ready meals, and keeping nutritious snacks on hand, 
• Booking your next GP or dentist’s appointment before you leave the surgery and setting a reminder straight away (research suggests 38% of people with ADHD miss at least one doctor’s appointment a year), 
• Pairing exercise, like a 10-minute walk, with your favourite podcast or music to work with, not against, your brain’s reward system, 
• Keeping a consistent sleep schedule “with a set wake-up time and phones kept out of the bedroom”, 
• Eating regular meals with enough protein to keep your energy levels steady.