Trend, characteristics, and pharmacotherapy of adults diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a nationwide survey in Taiwan

Figures & data

Table 1 Distribution of adult patients who were newly diagnosed with ADHD from 2000 to 2011 in Taiwan

Year	Total populationa	Patients with ADHDa	Incidence rateb	Cumulative prevalenceb	Proportion of 18–30 years (%)	Proportion of 31–45 years (%)	Proportion of >45 years (%)	Proportion of drug treatment (%)
2000	16,497,603	67	0.41	0.41	74.6	19.4	6.0	59.7
2001	16,743,047	74	0.44	0.84	59.5	28.4	12.2	63.5
2002	16,976,243	100	0.59	1.42	72.0	23.0	5.0	72.0
2003	17,174,600	99	0.58	1.98	66.7	30.3	3.0	71.7
2004	17,344,075	300	1.73	3.69	50.0	40.0	10.0	55.0
2005	17,527,455	587	3.35	7.00	37.0	49.6	13.5	33.9
2006	17,874,404	655	3.66	10.53	36.3	50.7	13.0	39.1
2007	17,851,179	712	3.99	14.53	44.8	44.0	11.2	50.8
2008	18,168,727	567	3.12	17.40	58.4	30.9	10.8	72.0
2009	18,374,613	630	3.43	20.63	59.4	30.5	10.2	70.2
2010	18,566,356	772	4.16	24.58	60.9	29.3	9.8	58.5
2011	18,755,562	834	4.45	28.78	58.9	30.7	10.4	56.7
Statistic value	t=44.11	t=8.06	t=7.35	t=13.29	t=−1.04	t=0.83	t=1.41	t=−0.31
	P<0.001	P<0.001	P<0.001	P<0.001	P=0.324	P=0.425	P=0.188	P=0.766

Notes:

a Age ≥18 years.

b Per 100,000 people.

Abbreviation: ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Figure 1 Sex distribution among three age groups in adult ADHD patients in Taiwan.

Abbreviations: ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; y, years.

Table 2 Characteristics of adults newly diagnosed with ADHD (N=5,397) from 2000 to 2011 in Taiwan

Characteristics	Mean or N	SD or %
Age at diagnosis
Mean ± SD (years)	31.5	11.2
18–30 years (n, %)	2,822	52.3
31–45 years (n, %)	1,992	36.9
>45 years (n, %)	583	10.8
Sex (n, %)
Female	2,502	46.4
Male	2,895	53.6
ADHD subtypes (n, %)
Inattentive type	4,042	74.9
Hyperactive/impulsive or combined type	1,355	25.1
Psychiatric comorbidity (n, %)
Tic disorders	76	1.4
Intellectual disability	396	7.3
Anxiety disorders	3,541	65.6
Depressive disorders	2,670	49.5
Hospital level of first diagnosis (n, %)
Medical center or regional hospitals	3,983	73.8
Local medical clinics	1,414	26.2
Pharmacotherapy for ADHD
Any prescription (n, %)	2,987	55.3
Duration of any drug treatment (days, mean ± SD)	478.3	733.1
MPR of drug treatment (%, mean ± SD)	69.3	32.9
IR-MPH prescription (n, %)	2,720	50.4
Duration of IR-MPH treatment (days, mean ± SD)	453.9	728.9
MPR of IR-MPH treatment (%, mean ± SD)	69.5	33.4
OROS-MPH prescription (n, %)	719	13.3
Duration of OROS-MPH treatment (days, mean ± SD)	327.7	487.9
MPR of OROS-MPH treatment (%, mean ± SD)	73.4	30.9
ATX prescription (n, %)	92	1.7
Duration of ATX treatment (days, mean ± SD)	161.4	221.6
MPR of ATX treatment (%, mean ± SD)	85.3	22.6

Note: Data are expressed as n (%) or mean ± SD.

Abbreviations: IR-MPH, immediate-release methylphenidate; OROS-MPH, osmotic release oral system-methylphenidate; ATX, atomoxetine; MPR, medication possession ratio; ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; SD, standard deviation.

Figure 2 Different durations of medication treatment among three age groups in adult ADHD patients in Taiwan.

Abbreviations: ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; y, years.

Table 3 Logistic regression model for factors associated with pharmacotherapy for adult ADHD

Characteristics	n/N (%)	aOR (95% CI)	P-value
Age at diagnosis
18–30 years (n, %)	1,919/2,822 (68.0)	1
31–45 years (n, %)	844/1,992 (42.4)	0.40 (0.35–0.46)	<0.001
>45 years (n, %)	224/583 (38.4)	0.30 (0.26–0.36)	<0.001
Sex
Female	1,142/2,502 (45.6)	1
Male	1,845/2,895 (63.7)	1.79 (1.59–2.02)	<0.001
ADHD subtypes
Inattentive type	2,124/4,042 (52.5)	1
H/I or combined type	863/1,355 (63.7)	1.23 (1.07–1.41)	0.004
Psychiatric comorbidity
Tic disorders	49/76 (64.5)	0.94 (0.57–1.57)	0.821
Intellectual disability	182/396 (46.0)	0.54 (0.44–0.68)	<0.001
Anxiety disorders	2,217/3,541 (62.6)	1.64 (1.42–1.89)	<0.001
Depressive disorders	751/1,073 (70.0)	1.74 (1.52–1.99)	<0.001
Hospital level
Hospitals	2,048/3,983 (51.4)	1
Local medical clinics	939/1,414 (66.4)	1.55 (1.35–1.78)	<0.001

Abbreviations: aOR, adjusted odds ratio; 95% CI, 95% confidence interval; ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; H/I, hyperactive/impulsive.