Symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in severely obese women
J P Fleming1, L D Levy, R D Levitan
1University of Toronto, Department of Psychiatry, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. flemingjp@rogers.com
Objective:
Past and current symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were assessed in a clinical sample of severely obese females.
Method:
Core symptoms of ADHD were examined in 75 consecutive, severely obese (BMI > or = 35) women referred to a medical specialist for the non-surgical treatment of obesity. Subjects completed both a retrospective report of childhood symptoms of ADHD (Wender Utah Scale) and two standardized adult ADHD symptom scales.
Results:
The frequency of clinically suggestive elevations in ADHD scores was substantially and significantly higher than the normative samples in 9 out of 11 symptom subscales. Inattentive symptoms, but not hyperactive symptoms of ADHD, were frequently reported. Overall, 26.7% of the sample reported significant symptoms of ADHD in both childhood and adulthood.
Conclusions:
This preliminary study suggests that severely obese women report significant symptomatology related to both childhood and adult ADHD.
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