A study reveals that the risk of developing dementia in people with ADHD is higher than in others however cause and effect are yet not confirmed.
Some experts are asking for links and some are cautioned about the possibility as the study only highlights further studies to establish the link whether ADHD medications mitigate any potential dementia risk.
The study found that the people who are diagnosed with ADHD as adults appear to have almost three times more diagnosed with dementia later in their life, this medical record is taken from 100,000 people only.
The experts say the processes involved in adult ADHD may reduce the ability of the brain to compensate for the effects of processes that can happen later in life. Similarly, the neurodegeneration or blood flow in the brain.
Dr Stephen Levine, One of the first authors of the study from the University of Haifa said this is a primary result of the study of increasing dementia risk.
The team involved in the research said that they studied only the electronic health records of a non-profit health organization called “Meuhedet Healthcare Services” in Israel. And also said that People with an existing diagnosis of ADHD or dementia were not included in this process of study.
The team behind the study took the records of 109,218 people with an average age of 57.7 years that began in 2003 and ended the study in 2020
The report showed that 730 people were diagnosed with adult ADHD during the study period, of whom 96 (13%) were also diagnosed with dementia. Whereas, there were 7,630 dementia diagnoses (7%) among those who did not receive an ADHD diagnosis during adulthood.
And After taking all the records and factors including sex, age, socioeconomic status, smoking, and non-smoking, various health conditions, the team involved in the process found those who were diagnosed with adult ADHD during the study had a 2.77 times higher risk of being diagnosed with dementia.
This study reveals that ADHD medication changed the scenario. However, the team did not find any clear link between ADHD and dementia. the team wrote, that the finding required further study.