A research team from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP) is working on a tool that aims to improve the screening of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Portuguese adults, it was announced today.
“There is currentlynovalidatedADHDscale for the Portuguese population that complies with the current diagnostic criteria and allows it to be used for screening in a community context. This tool could be particularly useful in the context of primary health care, helping to improve the provision of care,” explains Sofia Baptista, a professor at FMUP, quoted in a statement.
In the text sent to the Lusa news agency, the team says it expects the tool to be made available “soon”.
This is a project that “should validate the use of a short, easy-to-fill-in scale (about five minutes) capable of detecting most situations of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in the general population”, she describes.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) six-item scale has proven its ability in other contexts, but has not yet been validated in Portugal.
Often beginning in childhood, “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can persist into adulthood and is associated with other mental health problems and work difficulties”.
“The diagnosis of ADHD in adults can be particularly challenging. ADHD often goes undiagnosed and untreated, although effective treatment is available. Many patients do not receive adequate treatment and follow-up and, as a result, do not reach their full potential,” she says.
Estimates indicate that around three out of every 100 adults have ADHD, which can be characterized by symptoms such as difficulty paying attention, impulsiveness or difficulty sitting still.
When not diagnosed or treated properly, this disorder can have “a significant impact on adult life, in personal, social and professional terms”.
The FMUP project was awarded an APMGF — Portuguese Association of General and Family Medicine | AICIB — Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation 2004 research support grant, worth 3,000 euros, awarded as part of the 41st national meeting of the APMGF, which took place in April in the Algarve.
In addition to Sofia Baptista, the authors of this project are Rafaela Silva, a student at FMUP, Andreia Teixeira and Paulo Santos, from FMUP and CINTESIS@RISE, as well as Gustavo Jesus, director of the Psychiatry service at Vila Franca de Xira Hospital.
