Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is highly prevalent in both childhood and adolescence

Abstract

Recently, there has been a growing interest in this disorder from a social, professional and educational perspective. Diagnostic errors in ADHD may be due to unidentified possible cases of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). The main objective is to investigate the relationship between ADHD and PTSD in childhood and to analyze whether this relationship can lead to misdiagnosis. We carried out a systematic review of the scientific literature by means of specialized databases using the terms “ADHD”, “trauma”, “PTSD”, “child abuse”, “attention deficit” and with special interest in articles relating ADHD with PTSD. The different studies analyzed showed a close relationship between some symptoms of ADHD with some of the symptoms of PTSD in children and vice versa. Children who have suffered trauma often show symptoms similar to ADHD and these, in turn, overlap with PTSD. Distinguishing a diagnosis of PTSD with one of ADHD can be a complex process if we also consider that one disorder can influence the expression of the other (and vice versa). A correct differential diagnosis and an accurate assessment of every possible case of ADHD are essential to avoid false positives. The main contribution of this work is to point out the need to take into account the exploration of possible previous traumas in the clinical history within the process of evaluation and diagnosis of possible ADHD.