Individual, Social, and Economic Burden of ADHD Through the Lifespan

Establishing the relative importance of a disease or disorder to public health policy and research involves an understanding of the impact it has on individual and social systems, as well as the associated costs. Little scientific research has addressed the cost of ADHD to the individual or society. Additionally, a framework to address the scope of economic consequences attributable to ADHD has not been adequately formulated to quantify the individual and social burden of ADHD in our society. Because of the many short- and long-term manifestations of the condition, the costs can be both direct and indirect, and can arise in myriad ways.

An internal CDC workgroup hosted two one-day meetings with several ADHD experts on this topic to answer specific questions and to generate ideas for needed research. The executive summary of these meetings provide detailed questions and answers to related issues

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