Health, lifestyle habits, and physical fitness among adults with ADHD compared with a random sample of a Swedish general population

Figures & data

Table 1. Descriptive demographic data for the ADHD and LIV samples. Presented as n and % (n = 90).

	ADHD group n = 48	LIV group n = 42	Sig
Age, mean (SD)	36 (11)	38 (10)	0,383
Sex: f/m
n (%)	29 (60)/19 (40)	22 (52)/20 (48)	0,588
Geographic area: Urban/Rural
n (%)	31 (65)/17 (35)	26 (62)/12 (29)	0,709
Education: Elementary/High school/University
n (%)	15/24/9	3/18/21	0,001
	(31)/(50)/(19)	(7)/(43)/(50)
Living conditions: Alone/Cohabiting
n (%)	21 (44)/27 (56)	11 (26)/28 (67)	0,135
Employment status:
Unemployed/Employment/Sick leave	3/32/12	3/34/1	0,014
n (%)	(6)/(67)/(25)	(7)/(80)/(2)
Cash marginal (15 000 SEK in a week)
n (%)	27 (56)	33 (79)	0,008

Note: Internal losses. The ADHD group is 1 missing the value for employment status. The LIV group is missing 4 values for geographic area and living conditions, and missing 4 values for employment status.

Table 2. A comparison of health measures in the ADHD and LIV samples. Presented as n and %.

	ADHD n=48	Liv n=42	Sig
General health:
Bad/In between/Good n (%)	17(35)/24(50)/1(2)	2(5)/8(19)/28(65)	0,000
Physical health:
Bad/Good n (%)	28(58)/20(42)	7(17)/32(76)	0,000
Mental health:
Bad/Good n (%)	30(62)/18(38)	4(10)/35(83)	0,000
Life satisfaction:
yes/n (%)	30 (62)	38 (90)	0,002
Long-term illness: (no long-term illness ref)	23 (49)	5 (14)	0,001
Sleep problems:
Problem/No problem n (%)	29(60)/19(40)	6(14)/33(79)	0,000
Fatigue (5–25): mean (sd)	13 (4)	8 (3)	0,000
Pain
Problem/No problem n (%)	31(65)/15(31)	19(45)/20(48)	0,081

Note: Internal losses. The ADHD group is missing 6 values for general health and 2 values for pain. The LIV group is missing 4 values for general health, 3 values for Physical health, 3 values for mental health, 3 values for sleeping problems, and 3 values for pain.

Table 3. A comparison of lifestyle habits measured in the ADHD and LIV samples, n and %.

	ADHD n=48	Liv n=42	Sig
Sedentary behaviour n (%)	7 (15)	1 (2)	0,042
Exercise weekly n (%)
Less than 30 min	33 (69)	8 (19)
30 min-120 min	9 (19)	17 (41)
More than 120 min	4 (8)	14 (33)	0,000
Physically active weekly n (%)
Less than 30 min	12 (25)	2 (5)
30 min-120 min	17 (38)	10 (24)
More than 120 min	16 (33)	27 (64)	0,014
Smoking daily n (%)	21 (44)	2 (5)	0,000
Snuff daily n (%)	21 (44)	9 (21)	0,025
Fruit daily n (%)	11 (23)	18 (43)	0,043
Vegetables daily n (%)	14 (29)	21 (50)	0,043
Alcohol n (%)	8 (17)	8 (20)	0,768

Note: Internal losses. The ADHD group is missing 1 value for sedentary behaviour, 2 values for exercise weekly, 3 values for physically active weekly, 2 values for fruit, and 5 values for vegetables. The LIV group is missing 3 values for sedentary behaviour, 3 values for exercise weekly, 3 values for physically active weekly, 3 values for smoking, 3 values for snuff, 5 values for fruit, 4 values for vegetables, and 4 values for alcohol.

Table 4. A comparison of physical fitness measures in the ADHD sample and the LIV sample, mean and standard deviation (SD).

	ADHD n=48	Liv n=42	Sig
BMI
Mean (sd)	29 (7)	25 (4)	0,001
Waist circumference (cm)
Mean (SD)	92,7 (18,1)	84,9 (11,1)	0,026
Estimated VO2 max (mL/kg min)
Mean (SD)	37,4 (9,67)	44,3 (9,08)	0,004
60 s balance
Mean (SD)	5,8 (8,7)	4,4 (5,2)	0,38
Vertical jump (cm)
Mean (SD)	35,5 (10,2)	45,8 (14,0)	0,013
Sit-ups
Mean (SD)	12 (4,1)	14 (1,9)	0,002

Note: Internal losses. The LIV group’s BMI and waist circumference had 15 missing values. 17 values for aerobic fitness, 10 values for balance and leg strength, and 10 values for sit-ups. The ADHD group was missing 2 values for balance.

Table 5. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals for various health measures, lifestyle habits, and physical fitness adjusted for education, employment status, cash marginal, and sex when comparing the ADHD group to the LIV group.

	Adjusted model
Bad general health (good GH ref)	13 (3,4–50)
Bad physical health (good PH ref)	2,8 (0,8–9,8)
Bad mental health (good MH ref)	5,1 (1,2–21)
Life satisfaction (satisfied ref)	5,5 (1,6–19)
Sleep problems (no problems ref)	8,3 (2,3–31)
Long-term illness (no long-term illness ref)	10 (2,3–45)
Fatigue (5–25)	1,5 (1,2–1,8)
Aerobic fitness (VO2max/ml/kg)	0,9 (0,8–1,0)
Sit ups	0,6 (0,4–0,9)
Leg strength	0,9 (0,8–1,0)
BMI	1,1 (0,9–1,3)
Waist circumference (cm) (below 0,85/1,0 ref)	1,1 (0,2–6,6)
Sedentary behaviour	1,4 (0,1–20)
Low weekly exercise (more than 120 min/week ref)	0,8 (0,2–3,4)
Low weekly psychically active (more than 120 min/week ref)	3,8 (1,2–13)
Smoking	16 (1,6–169)

Note: na = not available to measure.