- A recent meta-analysis of data from more than 1.9 million participants across 23 trials suggests that there is a high incidence of gastrointestinal issues among people with ADHD.
- Strikingly, people with ADHD have an almost 50% increase in gastrointestinal problems, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), compared with neurotypical peers.
- So far, though, the link remains unexplained.
A new review and meta-analysis conducted by a research team from the Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, in Coventry, United Kingdom, confirms a striking association.
The review, which looked at data from 23 studies totaling more than 1.9 million participants between them, found a strong link between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the experience of a varied array of gastrointestinal symptoms and disorders.
People with ADHD had a heightened likelihood of developing “every [gastrointestinal] symptom investigated,” the authors write in the paper, which appears in the Journal of Attention Disorders.
Speaking to Medical News Today, co-lead review author Sarah Blake, a medical student at Warwick Medical School, explained that her and her colleagues’ interest in this topic stemmed both from intriguing clues provided by previous research, and from some of the researchers’ own experience.
“Hugo [co-lead author Hugo Cannon, MBBS] and I came to this topic from different perspectives,” Blake told us. “My interest grew from research I encountered during my undergraduate degree, while Hugo’s interest was additionally shaped by personal experience.”
“Previous research had suggested connections between ADHD and gastrointestinal problems. We wanted to bring together the evidence on individual gut symptoms and conditions to understand which specifically were more common in people with ADHD and how consistent the findings were across studies. We hoped this would help clinicians recognise coexiting problems and help researchers identify questions that future studies need to answer.”
— Sarah Blake
Team Health Accessible
Health & Wellness Editorial Team
HealthAccessible editorial team delivers trusted, accessible, and evidence-based health information for everyone.
