Exploring the Relationship between Quality of Life (EQ-5D) and Clinical Measures in Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Objective To explore the association between quality of life (QoL) and clinical measures in patients with adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); as well as assess the work impairment related to the disease. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted in an outpatient clinic of a university hospital in Hungary between 2011–2013 ( n = 75). QoL was measured by the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions questionnaire (EQ-5D). Associations between EQ-5D and clinical measures such as physician’s assessment on a visual analogue scale (physician-VAS), Clinical Global Impression-Severity scale (CGI-S), and Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS) subscores were assessed by Spearman-correlation and linear regression models. Productivity loss was estimated using the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI) questionnaire. Results The mean EQ-5D index and EQ VAS scores were 0.74( SD = 0.22) and 69.5( SD = 19.4), significantly lower than the scores of the age-matched general population. Significant correlations were found between EQ-5D index and clinical measures. No correlation was found between CAARS and physician-VAS, CGI-S. The regression models explained 44.0 % of the EQ-5D index variance. The productivity loss was estimated to 47.5 %. Conclusion To our knowledge, this study is the first to analyze the relationship between EQ-5D and clinical measures in adult ADHD in real world practice. Significant correlation between EQ-5D and the clinical measures suggests that EQ-5D is a sensitive measure of the health impairment related to ADHD and psychiatric co-morbidities, thus it contributes to a better understanding of the burden of adult ADHD. The lack of association between the CAARS and physicians’ measures requires further research.