ALL RIGHT. FIVE ON YOUR MENTAL HEALTH TONIGHT, A WARNING FOR PEOPLE WITH ADHD. RESEARCHERS NOW SAY THE CONDITION MAY INCREASE THE RISK FOR DEPRESSION AND ANOREXIA, EVEN SUICIDE. HERE TO TALK ABOUT THIS IS DR. ALICE CONNORS KELLGREN, A CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST AT TUFTS MEDICAL CENTER. GOOD TO SEE YOU, DOCTOR. HEY, DR. ALICE, THANKS FOR YOUR TIME. SO LET’S FIRST TALK ABOUT ADHD. SIMPLE QUESTION. HOW IS IT HOW IS IT TYPICALLY DIAGNOSED? FIRST OF ALL, THANKS FOR HAVING ME BACK. SO ADHD CAN BE DIAGNOSED BY A PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER OR PEDIATRICIAN OR A MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDER SUCH AS A PSYCHOLOGY BASED PSYCHIATRIST OR CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER? AYER. UNLIKE MANY PHYSICAL HEALTH CONDITIONS FOR WHICH THERE MIGHT BE LIKE A BLOOD TEST OR ANOTHER LAB TEST, MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS ARE TYPICALLY DIAGNOSED THROUGH CLINICAL INTERVIEWS OR SELF-REPORT MEASURES THAT ASSESS WHETHER A PERSON’S SYMPTOMS LIKE THEIR BEHAVIORS OR THEIR EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES, ALIGN WITH THE CRITERIA FOR A GIVEN DISORDER. SOME TIMES, PEDIATRICIANS OR PRIMARY CARE PROVIDERS WILL ALSO TRIAL A MEDICATION TO CONFIRM THE DIAGNOSIS, OR THEY MIGHT RECOMMEND NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS TESTING TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN ADHD AND ANOTHER CONDITION, OR TO DETERMINE SOMEONE SOMEONE’S SPECIFIC PROFILE. SO DOCTOR RESEARCHERS, FOR THIS STUDY, THEY LOOKED AT LINKS BETWEEN ADHD AND SEVEN COMMON MENTAL DISORDERS. WHAT DID THEY FIND SO WE’VE KNOWN FOR SOME TIME THAT ADHD OFTEN CO-OCCURS WITH OTHER MENTAL CONDITIONS, BUT THE UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT THESE OTHER CONDITIONS, LIKE DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, WERE OFTEN A RESULT OF THE IMPACT OF ADHD ON SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS, ACADEMIC OR WORK PERFORMANCE AND SELF ESTEEM. THIS NEW STUDY, HOWEVER, ESTABLISHES A GENETIC LINK BETWEEN ADHD AND OTHER MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS, WHICH MEANS THAT JUST A GENETIC VULNERABILITY TO ADHD, EVEN IF IT’S DIAGNOSED AND TREATED EARLY, CAN INCREASE SOMEONE’S VULNERABILITY TO ANOTHER DISORDER. NOW, THIS MIGHT SEEM LIKE REALLY BAD NEWS, BUT THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THESE DISORDERS SHARE COMMON GENETIC AND NEUROCOGNITIVE FACTORS, WHICH IS ACTUALLY REALLY HELPFUL IN HOW WE UNDERSTAND, DIAGNOSE AND TREAT THEM WELL. AND JUST TO PICK UP ON THAT, AS YOU KNOW WHAT, MORE THAN 6 MILLION CHILDREN, AT LEAST IN THE UNITED STATES, HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH ADHD. OBVIOUSLY, THE NUMBER IS LARGER THAN THAT, BUT 6 MILLION HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED. IN YOUR OPINION, SHOULD THEY BE SCREENED FOR THOSE MENTAL DISORDERS? ABSOLUTELY. AND FORTUNATELY, MOST PEDIATRICIANS ARE DOING REGULAR SCREENINGS FOR COMMON MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS. ALREADY, MANY KIDS ONLY SEE THE PEDIATRICIAN A COUPLE OF TIMES A YEAR. SO IT’S ALSO REALLY HELPFUL FOR THE ADULTS IN KIDS LIVES TO BE AWARE OF BEHAVIORS ASSOCIATED WITH DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND EATING DISORDERS SO THEY CAN IDENTIFY THEM. RIGHT. MOST IMPORTANTLY. OH, I’M SORRY. NO, NO, NO. GO AHEAD. YEAH. MOST IMPORTANTLY, THOUGH, KIDS JUST NEED LIKE THE ADULTS TO BE CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THEY’RE THINKING AND FEELING SO THAT THEY CAN PROVIDE THE SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED. RIGHT. THAT’S WHAT THE BOTTOM LINE WE WERE GOING TO SAY. RIGHT? AT LEAST THERE’S HELP OUT THERE. AND PEOPLE SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT TH