A day to advance in ADHD and its comorbidities

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder of neurobiological origin that begins in childhood, but may continue in adolescence and adulthood. Patients with this disorder may have difficulty maintaining attention, with marked hyperactivity, as well as high impulsivity. ADHD can have a significant impact on the quality of life of people who suffer from it, causing difficulties in academic performance or work activity or being associated with an increased risk of traffic accidents or health problems such as obesity or addictions.

The group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictions of the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR) is part of the European Project CoCA (comorbidities of ADHD). As explained by Dr. Josep Antoni Ramos-Quiroga, head of the Psychiatry Service of the Vall d’Hebron and principal investigator of the Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictions group at VHIR, this European project "aims to study the relationship between ADHD and other disorders, such as depression, anxiety, drug use or obesity. " This project involves 17 centers from 8 European countries (Germany, Holland, United Kingdom, Estonia, Norway, Spain and Denmark) and the United States. "We co-lead the PROUD study, which evaluates the effectiveness of luminotherapy, regulated physical activity controlled by a mobile app and conventional therapy to prevent depression and obesity among people with ADHD."

In the framework of a meeting of the main leaders of the European CoCA project, the group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictions of the VHIR has organized the conference "Advancing in ADHD and its comorbidities: European CoCA project". "This day is aimed at patients and their families," adds Dr. Josep Antoni Ramos-Quiroga, "in this way we have been able to inform them of the advances on ADHD and the risk of suffering from pathologies such as depression, anxiety, consumption of drugs or obesity. " As explained by the head of Psychiatry of the Vall d’Hebron, "throughout life, patients with ADHD have a 40% higher risk of having problems with drugs and a 30% higher risk of depression".

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 667302.