Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults with High-Functioning Pervasive Developmental Disorders in Japan

Yasuko Takanashi¹, Hirobumi Mashiko^1,2, Hirohide Yokokawa^3,4, Yoko Kawasaki⁵, Shuntaro Itagaki¹, Hiromichi Ishikawa¹, Norihiro Miyashita^1,6, Yasuaki Hayashi⁷, Asako Kudo⁸, Kentaro Oga⁹, Rieko Matsuura¹⁰, Shin-Ichi Niwa^1*

¹Department of Neuropsychiatry, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
²Fukushima General Health and Welfare Center, Fukushima, Japan.
³Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
⁴Department of General Medicine, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵Musasino Child Development Clinic, Tokyo, Japan.
⁶Hanawakousei Hospital, Fukushima, Japan.
⁷Landic Nihonbashi Clinic, Tokyo, Japan.
⁸Hoshigaoka Hospital, Fukushima, Japan.
⁹Surugadai Nihon University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
¹⁰Shiba Clinic, Tokyo, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/ojpsych.2014.44043                

Abstract

Aims: This study was designed to verify the proportion of Japanese adults with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) who met the diagnostic criteria (other than E) for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). Furthermore, we examined to what extent adults with PDD think that they exhibit ADHD symptoms. Methods: We developed an original Japanese self-report questionnaire to determine the presence or absence of 18 symptoms from the diagnostic criteria for ADHD in the DSM-IV-TR. We administered the questionnaire to 64 adults with high-functioning PDD (45 men and 19 women) and 21 adults with ADHD (10 men and 11 women), aged 18 to 59 years, with a full-scale intelligence quotient ≥75. Target patients were evaluated for ADHD by their psychiatrists. Results: Twenty-nine (45.3%) adults with PDD also had ADHD. The percentage of these adults who had over six perceived inattention symptoms from the DSM-IV-TR was 96.6%. The percentage of these adults who had over six perceived hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms was 65.5%. Thirty-five (55.6%) adults with PDD responded that they were aware of having ADHD symptoms at the level of the relevant diagnostic criteria. Conclusions: The present study is the first to examine the frequency of objective and perceived ADHD symptoms in adults with PDD in Japan. Our results show that both objective and perceived ADHD symptoms frequently appear in a large number of adults with PDD. This suggests that it is necessary to attend to concomitant ADHD symptoms in the medical care of adults with PDD.

Keywords

Adults, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), High-Functioning, Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), Self-Report

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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