05/12/2025
While the under-diagnosis of neurodivergent conditions is a critical issue, I also feel much more needs to be done to support people on the basis of their needs, and regardless of diagnosis.
Today we heard "Streeting orders review into mental health and ADHD diagnoses" [BBC]. ADHD is an underdiagnosed and undersupported medical issue.
ADHD is not overdiagnosed. A recent Lancet study published research that analysed 9 million GP records and showed just 0.32% of patients have a diagnosis of ADHD. That's nudging just 10% of the 3-4% of the population who have ADHD. We're underdiagnosed, not overdiagnosed. In addition, a BBC study showed the average wait for an ADHD diagnosis in England is 8 years. The idea that you can achieve overdiagnosis with an average wait of nearly a decade is just preposterous.
The targets of the announced report are laudable "to raise the healthiest generation, increase healthy life expectancy, and reduce su***de". People with ADHD are more at risk of su***de and have a lower life expectancy. 1 in 4 women, and 1 in 10 men, with ADHD will at some time try to take their own lives. On average, a woman with ADHD will die 9 years younger than her peers, and a man 7 years younger than his peers. The issues and challenges that ADHD can bring are finally being recognised, and our potentially naive hope is that this review will progress the recognition of ADHD.
However, we are very worried about the government's failure to bring a political solution to the rising cost of welfare, means they're instead looking to run roughshod over decades of medical progress and recognition. In particular for ADHD.
