El trastorno de déficit de atención e hiperactividad en adolescentes y adultos como problemática de salud pública

Abstract

The syndrome of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adolescents and adults is now widely recognized as leaning disorder, which is usually diagnosed in children. Opinions vary as to the percentage of the population affected as well as the cause of this disorder, but authorities agree that ADHD is a syndrome with symptoms and behavioral manifestations, which interfere with attention, concentration, self-organizational abilities and self-control. For more a decade it has also been recognized than ADHD is not only a childhood disorder. The behavioral and emotional problems multiply not only in school but also at home when these children become adolescents if the situation as not been adequately treated, and many symptoms may even continue into adulthood. This report reviews the pertinent references and the clinical impressions of the first author, and the research carried out in Jalapa, Veracruz by both authors to achieve an integral position of the syndrome as a public health problem in Mexico.