Pharmacotherapy of adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: review of evidence-based practices and future directions.

BACKGROUND: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorder in children and adolescents with well-known clinical consequences and functional outcomes that affect individuals throughout their lifespan. The diagnosis of adult ADHD is often a clinical diagnosis made on the basis of behavioral symptoms that begin early in life, and persist over time across different settings.

OBJECTIVE: Although pharmacotherapy is a first-line treatment option for ADHD across all age groups, there is a relative paucity of well-designed and well-controlled studies evaluating the treatment outcomes in adult ADHD. In this review, evidence-based pharmacotherapy of adult ADHD and directions of future research are critically examined.

METHODS: A literature search from 1980 to 2007, restricting papers to English, using PUBMED and PsychInfo was performed. Studies were examined based on empirically derived criteria.

RESULTS: The reviewed body of evidence strongly supports the use of pharmacotherapy as a first-line therapeutic option for the treatment of adults with ADHD.