ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a condition that affects the mental functioning and organization of the person who suffers. Researchers have found that changes to the individual’s ability to organize their thoughts and control their impulses is related to brain chemicals that are responsible for the communication of these functions.
Several of these brain chemicals, or neurotransmitters, are dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine. These have also been implicated in other mood disorders such as depression and to a greater degree, Parkinson’s disease.
The correlation between ADHD and depression in adults is approximately one in four. In other words one out of every four adults who has ADHD also suffers from depression. In other studies it has been noted that children who suffer from ADHD or ADD are also at increased risk for development of depression. And it is also important to note that in many children the diagnosis of depression may be so intertwined with ADHD that the diagnosis is missed.
More recent research has also led scientists to draw the conclusion that the depression that is experienced by children who have ADHD is not because of the demoralization they suffer related to their disease but rather is a separate and distinct condition that requires medication and therapy.
