Adults with ADD: Is Dementia in Your Future?

Could attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) be an early indicator of dementia? A recent study published in the European Journal of Neurology found that adults with Lewy body dementia (LBD), the second most common form of dementia, are more than three times as likely to have had symptoms of ADD/ADHD earlier in life than those without LBD.

Researchers from Argentina compared the health histories of 109 patients with LBD to the health histories of patients with Alzheimer's and a control group of healthy peers. The rate of ADD/ADHD symptoms in the control group and the Alzheimer's group was similar, roughly 15 percent, while in the LBD group, the rate of ADD/ADHD symptoms was nearly 48 percent, or more than three times higher, a difference that is statistically significant.

Found in an estimated 1.3 million individuals in the U.S., LBD symptoms -- such as memory loss, attention deficits, hallucinations, delusions, tremors, and sleep problems -- overlap with more commonly known and diagnosed diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, according to the Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA). You can learn more about risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment on the LBDA's website.