People with ADHD have difficulty concentrating and are often hyperactive. But the disorder doesn’t always present in the same way. In women and girls, ADHD displays different symptoms than in men and boys.
ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. People with the condition have difficulty concentrating and are hyperactive or impulsive. Because the symptoms can vary in intensity, there's no one form of ADHD.
When people talk about ADHD, different terms are often used: mental illness, neurobiological disorder or neurodiversity. ICD-11, the international classification of diseases, describes ADHD as a neurodevelopmental disorder. However, the classification of ADHD is controversial – experts also speak of a neurological peculiarity.
Neurodiversity is a newer concept that points to the naturalness of neuronal differences. Characteristics that are traditionally described as mental disorders are seen by neurodiversity advocates as naturally occurring deviations from the norm. Autism and ADHD are such examples.
Boys are more commonly diagnosed with ADHD than girls. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that girls are actually less commonly affected. This gender difference may lie in the fact that ADHD is known as a “boy’s disease” and the hallmark symptoms of ADHD are more common in young men. Such gender prejudices, also known as the gender health gap, mean that ADHD is often not taken into consideration in young women. Even the number of examinations for ADHD, i.e. suspected cases, is significantly lower in girls.
How ADHD manifests is very individual. Nevertheless, the medical field has been able to identify certain differences in how ADHD is expressed in boys and girls.
ADHD is divided into three different “subtypes”. Inattentive ADHD is mainly characterised by concentration difficulties and easy distractibility. In some cases, this is referred to as ADD or attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity. In hyperactive-impulsive ADHD, hyperactivity and impulsivity are the main symptoms. Finally, there’s the combined type, in which hyperactivity and concentration difficulties are both prevalent.
As ADHD is often not suspected in girls, many women aren't diagnosed at all or only in adulthood. Even in adulthood, ADHD presents differently in women than in men. In addition, the symptoms change over time due to hormonal changes caused by ageing.
In order to improve the course of ADHD in children, early detection is important. If ADHD isn't detected, it’s difficult for the child to integrate into their environment. This can continue into adulthood, and cause problems at school, in training, at work and in social situations.
In order to improve early diagnosis of ADHD, it’s first important to draw attention to the different symptoms in boys and girls. This is where gender-specific research, also known as gender medicine, comes in. If the symptoms in women and girls are better known, screening procedures and tests can be geared towards them, which increases the chances of correct diagnoses and recognising ADHD cases earlier.
Unfortunately, many people with ADHD, especially women, are only diagnosed as adults. This means they’ve often had to struggle their entire lives with problems whose origins couldn't be explained, which can have a severe effect on their mental health. For this reason, an ADHD diagnosis in adults often comes as a great relief because of the clarity it provides – and the resulting therapy can make their daily lives easier to manage.
ADHD often appears with other neurological and mental health conditions, known as concomitant diseases. In some cases, these concomitant diseases are the result of untreated ADHD. These diseases and disorders can include:
ADHD can't be cured because those affected aren't sick. The brains of people with ADHD simply function differently and this can be challenging in today’s society. This is why the treatment of ADHD is primarily aimed at regulating the symptoms.
ADHD is the result of disrupted messenger substances (neurotransmitters) in our brain. Because this is often genetic, ADHD can be inherited. In addition to genes, environmental influences also play a role. Premature birth, birth complications or drug and nicotine consumption during pregnancy increase the risk of a child developing ADHD.
Hyperactivity is often less pronounced in adults, but this is made up for with concentration difficulties and impulsive behaviour. Gender differences may exist here too, with women displaying more inward-looking symptoms and men displaying more outward-looking symptoms. As with children, this makes it more difficult to detect in women.
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