DETROIT – A recent study is raising concerns about what can happen when ADHD goes undiagnosed and untreated in adults.
The research shows adults living with ADHD could lose several years off their life expectancy -- especially women. While men can lose up to seven years of life, women can lose up to nine. That’s primarily due to the signs that are overlooked for decades.
The full study can be found here.
Kam Carman recently discovered she has ADHD. She spent decades calm, poised and polished as she delivered the news and weather while battling something she didn’t know she had.
“I assumed that ADHD was a young kid on the playground, bopping around and not being able to concentrate in school,” she said.
She recalled a pivotal moment in her career when she realized something was wrong: “I got a call from my executive producer, and she said, ‘Kam, where are you?’ I thought, ‘What do you mean? It’s Saturday.’ She said, ‘It’s Friday.’ I was shocked.”
She initially thought it was depression and anxiety. It wasn’t until after she left the TV industry that Kam was officially diagnosed with ADHD, a disorder that left her forgetful and unable to focus enough to balance her own checkbook.
“Once the light bulb went off that I have ADHD, everything just became so clear,” Kam said. “It was like I was before swimming underwater without goggles, and I just didn’t get it. And then I got it.”
That clarity may be life-saving. Dr. Lisa MacLean, a psychiatrist at Henry Ford Health, said it’s not the ADHD diagnosis that reduces lifespans, but what happens when it goes untreated.
“So if you have ADHD, you are more likely to be a smoker, you are more likely to potentially be underemployed,” MacLean said. “You’re more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle accident, you’re more likely to be divorced, you’re more likely to have a lower income.”
The research found that those with untreated ADHD have the potential negatives even worse. And the burden may be even heavier for women because so many go undiagnosed until adulthood, internalizing their symptoms and blaming themselves.
“It can be really transformative that suddenly they have walked around in their lives feeling like something just wasn’t quite right, but they didn’t know what it was,” MacLean said. “To be able to name it and then actually get treatment for it can be almost magical for them.”
Kam said she tried medication, but it didn’t work for her. Instead, she manages her ADHD with structure -- alarms, sticky notes and therapy.
“I just wish I had known it earlier,” she said. “That was a real breakout moment for me, thinking that my brain is broken, but I’ve come to learn that it’s not that.”
MacLean said treatment can truly change lives and if you think you may be experiencing symptoms of ADHD, talk to a mental health professional.
The full interview with Kam Carman can be watched below.
