Inattention in ADHD tied to hoarding behaviour

Individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently exhibit hoarding behaviour, which is specifically associated with inattention, as reported in a study.

The study included 88 patients with ADHD and 90 non-ADHD controls matched based on age, gender, and education. The participants were asked about their ADHD symptoms and impulsivity, levels of hoarding and clutter, obsessive compulsive severity, perfectionism, depression and anxiety, and everyday function.

The number of individuals with clinically significant hoarding symptoms was much higher in the ADHD group than in the control group (19 percent vs 2 percent). Those who exhibited hoarding behaviour were more likely to be in their 30s, and about half were male.

In the ADHD group, the remaining 81 percent of patients also showed greater hoarding severity, although not to a degree that significantly impaired their lives, when compared with controls.

Inattention was the sole predictor of hoarding severity among ADHD patients.

The findings were replicated in a larger online sample of 220 adults from the general population in UK, with only 3 percent exhibiting clinically significant hoarding symptoms.

The present data underscore the importance of routine assessment of hoarding disorder among patients with ADHD, as they do not typically disclose associated difficulties despite its potential to impair everyday functioning, according to researchers. More studies are needed to investigate hoarding disorder in younger ADHD patients.