Reducing Your Risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Most of the known risk factors for ADHD are out of your control. For these factors there are no current guidelines for reducing your (or your child’s) risk of ADHD. As our understanding of ADHD grows, your doctor may have more information regarding steps for reducing your risk. Some factors associated with the development of ADHD in children can be controlled. This includes limiting TV or screen time in young children and avoiding alcohol and smoking during pregnancy.

Understanding ADHD will help you identify its symptoms, minimize the consequences, and get appropriate treatment early on. Early recognition of the behavioral, emotional, and social factors that aggravate the condition can lead to interventions that help reduce its severity. Proper treatment can prevent problems later in life with school, work, relationships, and drug or alcohol use disorders.

REFERENCES:

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Family Doctor—American Academy of Family Physicians website. Available at: https://familydoctor.org/condition/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd. Updated June 2017. Accessed October 4, 2017.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at:http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T231898/Attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-ADHD-in-adults. Updated December 27, 2016. Accessed October 4, 2017.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at:http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T113926/Attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-ADHD-in-children-and-adolescents. Updated May 23, 2017. Accessed October 4, 2017.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). National Institute of Mental Health website. Available at: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd-the-basics/index.shtml. Updated 2016. Accessed October 4, 2017.

Stern T, Rosenbaum J, et al. Massachusetts General Hospital Comprehensive Clinical Psychiatry. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby Elsevier; 2008.

Understanding ADHD: Information for parents. Healthy Children—American Academy of Pediatrics website. Available at: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/adhd/Pages/Understanding-ADHD.aspx. Updated January 9, 2017. Accessed October 4, 2017.

What is ADHD? Kids Health—Nemours Foundation website. Available at: http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/adhd.html. Updated July 2014. Accessed October 4, 2017.

Last reviewed September 2018 by EBSCO Medical Review Board Adrian Preda, MD