Undiagnosed Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and the Quality of Life

ABSTRACT Purpose: To create awareness surrounding the quality of life in adults with undiagnosed attention deficit disorder and how clinicians can improve on diagnosing and treating this disorder in adults. Method: Search terms for scholarly journal articles referencing Adult Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), cognitive behavioral therapy, psychopharmacology, emotional liability, and substance abuse in the last five years. The search engines used were Medline, PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane, and National Institutes of Health (NIH). MeSH terms: Inattention, Adult, Anxiety, Depression, Emotional liability, diagnosis, young adult, comorbidity, assessment, and surveys, and questionnaires. Limits for articles were: published within the last five years, adults nineteen and older, English and United States as the origin. Results: Before implementing limits, the search yielded 8,883 results. After implementing limits, my search yielded 562 results. Conclusion: Undiagnosed Adult Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD) can cause a multidimensional reduction in a patient’s quality of life. Clinicians should implement both subjective and objective data when making this diagnosis. Consider psychotherapies in addition to pharmacotherapy for patients with attention deficit and associated psychiatric disorders