The Association between ADHD and the Severity of COVID-19 Infection

Eugene Merzon, Margaret D. Weiss, Samuele Cortese, Ann Rotem, Tzipporah Schneider, Stephanie G. Craig, Shlomo Vinker, Avivit Golan Cohen, Ilan Green, Shai Ashkenazi, Abraham Weizman, Iris Manor*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

33 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: Patients with ADHD are at increased risk of acquiring COVID-19. The present study assessed the possibility that ADHD also increases the risk of severe COVID-19 infection. Method: We assessed 1,870 COVID-19 positive patients, aged 5 to 60 years, registered in the database of Leumit Health Services (LHS, Israel), February to -June 2020, of whom 231 with ADHD. Logistic regression analysis models evaluated the association between ADHD and the dependent variables of being symptomatic/referral to hospitalization, controlling for demographic and medical variables. Results: Age, male sex, and BMI were confirmed to be significant risk factors for increased COVID-19 severity. ADHD was found to be associated with increased severity of COVID-19 symptoms (OR = 1.81, 95% CI [1.29, 2.52], p <.05) and referral to hospitalization (OR =1.93, 95% CI [1.06, 3.51], p =.03). Conclusion: ADHD is associated with poorer outcomes in COVID-19 infection.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)491-501
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Attention Disorders
Volume26
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2022

Keywords

  • ADHD
  • COVID-19
  • referral to hospitalization
  • symptom severity

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