[Transition of adolescents with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Implications for treatment of adults]

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic, complex and multifactorial neurodevelopmental disorder associated with high rates of concurrent psychiatric disorders, along with problems and complications on different areas of individual functioning. ADHD is not exclusively a childhood disorder, 40-60% persisting into adulthood with an estimated prevalence of 2.5-5%. Adolescence is a stage where great and continuous changes occur, associated with a lower adherence to treatment, a greater vulnerability to the emergence of academic problems, more risk-behaviors, the onset of substance use and higher rates of other comorbid disorders. The transition to adult services or units also occurs at this stage, requiring greater coordination between child/adolescent and adult services to ensure continuity of care in a phase of life in which the patient is particularly vulnerable. As in the case of children and adolescents, the recommended treatment for adults with ADHD is the multimodal and multidisciplinary approach, that combines medication with psychological or psychosocial strategies, such as psycho-education, cognitive behavioral therapy or coaching, adapted to the individual needs of each patient. Clinical guidelines recommend psycho-stimulant drugs as first-line treatments for adult patients with ADHD.