Health
People With A.D.H.D. Are Likely to Die Significantly Earlier Than Their Peers, Study Finds
A study of more than 30,000 British adults diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or A.D.H.D., found that, on average, they were dying earlier than their counterparts in the general population — around seven years earlier for men, and around nine for women.
The study, which was published Thursday in The British Journal of Psychiatry, is believed to be the first to use all-cause mortality data to estimate life expectancy in people with A.D.H.D. Previous studies have pointed to an array of risks associated with the condition, among them poverty, mental health disorders, smoking and substance abuse.
The authors cautioned that A.D.H.D. is substantially underdiagnosed and that the people in their study — most of them diagnosed as young adults — might be among the more severely affected. Still, they described their findings as “extremely concerning,” highlighting unmet needs that “require urgent attention.”
“It’s a big number, and it is worrying,” said Joshua Stott, a professor of aging and clinical psychology at University College London and an author of the study. “I see it as likely to be more about health inequality than anything else. But it’s quite a big health inequality.”
The study did not identify causes of early death among people with A.D.H.D. but found that they were twice as likely as the general population to smoke or abuse alcohol and that they had far higher rates of autism, self-harming behaviors and personality disorders than the general population. In adulthood, Dr. Stott said, “they find it harder to manage impulses, and have more risky behaviors.”
He said health care systems might need to adjust in order to better serve people with A.D.H.D., who may have sensory sensitivity or difficulty managing time or communicating with clinicians during brief appointments. He said he hoped treatments for substance abuse or depression could be adapted for patients with A.D.H.D.
“If it’s about systems, it’s malleable,” he said. “This doesn’t have to be.”
Previous studies have pointed to an unusual number of early deaths for people with A.D.H.D. A 2022 meta-analysis in the journal JAMA Pediatrics found that deaths from unnatural causes, such as accidents or suicide, were 2.81 times higher among those diagnosed with A.D.H.D. than in the general population.
A 2019 study that used actuarial tables to predict life expectancy concluded that adults diagnosed with A.D.H.D. in childhood had an 8.4-year reduction in life expectancy compared with the general population, something the authors attributed to reduced education and income, higher rates of smoking and alcohol consumption and reduced sleep.
Russell Barkley, the lead author of that study, said the data made it clear that A.D.H.D. should not be seen as a childhood disorder, like bed-wetting, but as a lifelong problem.
“To me, the best analog is diabetes,” said Dr. Barkley, a retired professor of clinical psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. “This is a disorder that you’ve got to manage, like high blood pressure, like cholesterol and diabetes. You’ve got to treat this for life.”
The new study examined 9,561,450 patients in Britain’s National Health Service primary care practices, among whom 30,039 had been diagnosed with A.D.H.D. Each person in the A.D.H.D. group was matched with 10 peers without the disorder for the purposes of comparison. Among those with A.D.H.D., 193 male patients and 148 female patients died during the follow-up period, which lasted from 2000 to 2019.
Stephen Hinshaw, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies A.D.H.D. but was not involved in the new British research, described the study as “a major finding,” the first analysis of deaths of subjects diagnosed with the disorder. He said it was unfortunate that the subjects’ causes of death were not included.
“There are risk factors to work on,” he said. “That is the key limitation of the study, because it would be really important to know, in terms of prevention, should we be focused on suicidality? Better diet and exercise? Depression?”
Diagnosis of A.D.H.D. has shifted in recent years, as clinicians concluded that many older people, especially women and people of color, had gone undiagnosed early in life and could benefit from treatment. As first-time diagnoses surged among older people, prevalence has remained consistent among children, at around 11 percent in the United States and 5 percent in Britain.
Dr. Stott said he hoped that, as these demographic changes took hold, health care systems would make more effort to identify the needs of neurodivergent patients. In past decades, he said, they may have been viewed dismissively by caregivers, as “the naughty kid at school.”
“If you’re constantly told, as a kid, sit down, stop being so naughty — if you talk to people with A.D.H.D., that is their experience — stop talking, go and sit outside,” he said. “It’s all of these things that wear down at your life chances, in many ways.”
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Memorial Day is for remembering those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
As Americans honor the day in their own ways, people across the country will be participating in a tough fitness challenge honoring fallen Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy.
The challenge, known as “the Murph,” consists of a variety of strength training and cardio activities, which Murphy himself used to complete during SEAL training.
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Murphy’s former SEAL roommate, Kaj Larsen, told Fox News Digital how he also participated in these workouts, which have turned into a national movement of patriotism.
“Murph and I would often run to the pull-up bars and then do this workout where we did 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups and 300 air squats, and then we’d run back to our barracks room,” Larsen said.
Lt. Michael P. Murphy, shown at right in a photo from Afghanistan, did “the Murph” workout while in SEAL training. (U.S. Navy via Getty Images; iStock)
“The total run was about a mile to the pull-up bars and a mile back, and this became one of Murph’s favorite workouts.”
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Murphy would often wear his body armor as a challenge, originally calling the workout “Body Armor.”
Now, tens of thousands of people on Memorial Day complete “the Murph.”
Murphy, left, of New York and Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class Matthew G. Axelson of California sit in Afghanistan on June 8, 2005. Murphy and Axelson were assigned to SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and were killed by enemy forces during a reconnaissance mission, Operation Red Wing, on June 28, 2005. (U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
“It’s a really beautiful way to honor him,” Larsen said. “Murph would have loved the idea of thousands of people sacrificing through sweat. That was right up his alley.”
He added, “He loved working out. And I think he’s smiling down on us as he sees us all doing one of his favorite workouts.”
“Murph would have loved the idea of thousands of people sacrificing through sweat.”
The classic Murph consists of the following exercises, in order or broken up:
- one-mile run
- 100 pull-ups
- 200 push-ups
- 300 air squats
- another one-mile run
Murphy and Larsen would often do the workout with a 20-pound weighted vest, which is optional.
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For those looking to attempt the Murph this Memorial Day, Larsen said there is “no one way” to do it.
While some people train all year for the Murph, modifications are acceptable.
This can include partitioning the reps of push-ups, pull-ups and squats into sets, or subbing out pull-ups for jumping pull-ups or assisted pull-ups with a band. The runs can also be walked, Larsen noted.
While some people train all year for the Murph, modifications are acceptable. (iStock)
“The point is to do something hard that challenges yourself in recognition and honor of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” he said. “And if you do that, you have done the Murph.”
Act of heroism
Larsen, currently head of military investing and communications at Siebert.Valor, the military arm of Siebert Financial, spent 13 years in Naval Special Warfare as a SEAL and left the military at the rank of lieutenant commander.
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The veteran spent his rookie years with Murphy, who joined through Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL Training (BUDS) in 2001.
SEAL Officer Murphy, the son of a New York firefighter who is originally from Long Island, was part of a team that specialized in long distance and special reconnaissance.
SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy sits on the ground in Afghanistan on May 20, 2005. Murphy was part of a team that specialized in long distance and special reconnaissance. (U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
In 2005, during his first combat deployment to Afghanistan, Murphy was part of Operation Red Wings, designed to go after a senior-level Taliban operative, Larsen described.
The operation has been memorialized as one of the greatest losses in Naval Special Warfare history.
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Murphy’s team was compromised, overwhelmed by superior forces as a firefight broke out. There were no survivors except for one SEAL, Marcus Luttrell.
A Quick Reaction Force (QRF) helicopter with eight SEALs flew in to support the SEALs on the ground, Larsen said.
Navy veteran Marcus Luttrell, at right, wrote the book “Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10.” (Michael P. Farrell/Albany Times Union via Getty Images; Nick de la Torre/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
This helicopter arrived due to Murphy’s moment of heroism, where he exposed himself to “excessive enemy fire” to reach radio communication, Larsen recalled.
“He got up on top of a boulder, which was the only place that he could make comms to call in the quick reaction force,” he said. “This ended up saving the life of Marcus Luttrell.”
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“Mike was killed on June 28, 2005, in Afghanistan. They identified him in part because underneath his uniform, he was wearing a New York Fire Department T-shirt – FDNY T-Shirt – as a tribute to his dad, Daniel Murphy.”
Murphy received the Medal of Honor for his actions that day, and the U.S. Navy commissioned a battleship named the USS Michael Murphy.
Operation Red Wings has since been immortalized in a book by Marcus Luttrell and in the movie “Lone Survivor” starring Mark Wahlberg.
A museum in Murphy’s honor was also built in his hometown of West Sayville, New York.
“The Murph is hard, and it’s designed to be hard.”
Murphy’s workout was also picked up after his death by the CrossFit community, which turned it into a “massive cultural movement,” Larsen said.
“The Murph is hard, and it’s designed to be hard,” he added.
“And I, for one, just appreciate everybody continuing to keep Murph and other soldiers like him who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in their hearts and in their minds.”
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