ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to describe various methods of treatment and effects of treatment of ADHD, and to investigate wheater there is an association between adults with ADHD and obesity. Method:  Literature review. Twelve quantitative scientific articles were found in the data bases PubMed, Cinahl and MedLine.  Result: ADHD is a cognitive impairment that can lead to serious complications such as obesity. Studies show that drug treatments of adults with ADHD have positive effects in terms of reduced symptoms, increased efficiency and improved quality of life, but drugs can also cause side effects in form of loss of appetite and insomnia. For adults with ADHD and obesity drugs that affect metabolism have a significant impact on patients ability to lose weight. At the same time the need for counselling to implement lifestyle changes is considerable. Cognitive-behavioral group therapy has in studies shown long-term improvements and is a successful method in the treatment of adults with ADHD. Conclusion: The studies show that it is important to examine and treat patients with ADHD. Preventative measures with focus on lifestyle changes such as increasing physical activity and changing dietary habits are necessary to avoid serious sequelae as obesity. Attending nurses needs knowledge about treatment of ADHD and new disease prevention methods as motivational interviewing (MI) to help this group of patients.   Keywords: ADHD, adult, treatment, obesity

ADHD is a persistent psychological disorder with far-reaching effects on many facets of an individual’s development. Despite this, there are a number of developmental outcomes that have not been extensively researched. Among these topics; is whether there is a risk of harm that may be inherent in life-course persistent ADHD symptomatology. Based on an integrated theory of ADHD phenotypology; this thesis contains a study comprising of four phases that explore the relationship between ADHD and four risk-laden outcomes. The sample for this study consisted of 67 adults from Christchurch, New Zealand (average age 33) of whom a sample of 35 adults met criteria for ADHD, which persisted into adulthood. The group of adults with ADHD were matched across demographic factors with a control group of adults with whom they were compared across a raft of psychosocial variables. The first phase illustrates the relationship between ADHD and self-destructive behaviours including self-harm and suicidal ideation and attempts, which were found to be significantly mediated by coping behaviour and psychological comorbidity. The second phase reports on the relationship between ADHD and a range of risk-taking behaviours including: violence risk, nicotine use and sexual risk-taking, and the mediating role of motivational variances, including reward sensitivity and temporal discounting. The third phase illustrates the moderating effect of childhood abuse victimisation on ADHD in increasing the vulnerability of the development of mood disorders in adulthood. A fourth phase explores a range of physical health outcomes including diet, exercise, chronic illness and disability which were not found to be significantly associated with ADHD in adulthood. Based on the literature previewed below, it is theorised in this thesis that ADHD symptomatology may act as a diathesis that, coupled with comorbid psychosocial stressors, may contribute to an individual’s level of risk to themselves and others. Overall, this research suggests that ADHD symptomatology that persists into adulthood may pose a significant risk to some individuals, in the form of deliberate and non-deliberate forms of harm. These findings may challenge previously held beliefs regarding the innocuousness of ADHD as a psychological disorder and highlight the need to consider risk and safety issues in the assessment and treatment of adult ADHD.

Objective: The present study investigated, for the first time, event- and time-based prospective memory (PM) in the same sample of adults with ADHD within one paradigm using parallel task constraints. Method: A total of 25 individuals with ADHD and 25 matched neurotypical controls completed a computerized version of the Dresden Breakfast Task, which required participants to prepare breakfast following a set of rules and time restrictions. Results: Although groups did not differ in event-based PM, results demonstrated a large-sized impairment in individuals with ADHD in time-based PM. Conclusion: Findings suggest a task-specific impairment in PM functioning and are discussed in an executive control framework of neurocognitive functioning in ADHD. (J. of Att. Dis. 2014; 18(7) 617-624)