Prevalence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) over Methamphetamine (Glass) Abusing Adults

Introduction: The relationship between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and drug abuse has been indicated in earlier studies. This study was aimed to compare the prevalence of ADHD between Methamphetamine (Glass) abusing and dependent adults, referring to addiction treatment centers in Tehran, with a Control group.Methods: In this cohort study, the case group included the over-18-year individuals with only glass abuse background and an at least 1-month interval from their last abuse, referring to the specialist addiction treatment clinic of Iran Psychiatry Hospital and two outpatient addiction treatment centers on West and East Tehran, September 2014 to August 2015. The control Group included some 18-year and above staff at that hospital. The cases were given a combination of three questionnaires and provided with the necessary explanations to answer them. The obtained information was analyzed statistically using SPSS (chi square Test and the t-test).Results: Both the case and the control groups included 60 individuals with a mean of 30.8 years (SD = 8.92) and 32.29 years (SD = 6.85) respectively. The females in the case and control were 10 16.7%) and 37 (62.5%), respectively. The mean scores for the Wender Utah Rating Scale were also 20.21 ± 62.16 and 10.31 ± 14.37. Based on the test analysis, there were some evidence for childhood ADHD for 71.7% of the case group and only 1.6% of the control group. The results of the CAARS questionnaire represent a possible diagnosis of adulthood ADHD for 63.3% of the case group and 1.6% of the control Group.Conclusions: ADHD is much more prevalent over Methamphetamine abusers than the normal population. This dramatic difference indicates the necessity of ADHD examinations to plan an appropriate treatment plan and implementing a more effective treatment for them.