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A study of 4.8 million people found ADHD is linked to dozens of physical disorders, raising new questions about how the condition affects the body.
Multiple studies link attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to physical conditions like hypermobility, gastrointestinal issues, and various other disorders and diseases. Now scientists are trying to find out why.
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects focus, executive functioning, and attentiveness. And it’s not binary—people with the diagnosis can experience symptoms to varying degrees of severity.
While it’s diagnosed through behavioral tests and questionnaires, there’s growing evidence that ADHD is, in some cases, genetically linked and heritable.
The Mind-Body Connection
“We’re stuck in these sort of silos between the brain and the body,” Jessica Eccles, a researcher at the University of Sussex, Brighton, told BBC Science Focus. Eccles studies interactions between the mind and body with a specific focus on hypermobility and neurodivergent conditions. Her interest is personal, as she has both hypermobility and ADHD.
A 2016 study found patients with hypermobility, a category within Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, are six times more likely to have ADHD. It’s not limited to just EDS, though.
A 2021 Swedish study evaluated over 4.8 million participants, and those with ADHD were more likely than those without it to also be diagnosed with a physical condition. The study evaluated 35 different physical conditions including nervous and respiratory system disorders, where they found the strongest association with ADHD. Out of the 35 conditions, scientists found 34 were diagnosed more in those with ADHD than those without it.
Why these links exist between ADHD and many physical disorders is the trickier part to figure out, though some connections are a bit easier to understand, such as those that are lifestyle influenced.
ADHD and Lifestyle Conditions
“Adults with ADHD are more likely to smoke and some are physically less active, and some of the core symptoms of ADHD, such as impulsivity, may contribute to dysregulated eating,” Jonna Kuntsi, a professor of developmental disorders and neuropsychiatry at King’s College London, told BBC Science Focus.
Kuntsi studies ADHD and possible comorbidities, and was an author of a 2022 paper that examined whether treating ADHD with medication could influence other aspects of physical health. She told the BBC that “A combination of such factors may then contribute to a higher risk for obesity and heart disease.”
Other neurologic-based conditions, like sleep disorders, migraines, epilepsy, and others, may also be easier to understand in connection with ADHD.
This post originally appeared at inc.com.
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