This study compared adults with ADHD to adults from the general population in Norway. It included 268 adults diagnosed with ADHD by psychiatrists and psychologists, aged 18 to 74. It also included 202 controls picked at random from a national birth registry.
Insomnia was measured with a self-report scale. About two in three adults with ADHD had insomnia (66.8%). The rate among controls was much lower (28.8%). Having ADHD went with about five times the odds of insomnia (OR 5.0).
Insomnia was more common in the combined type, which here included a small hyperactive group (79.7%). It was less common in the inattentive type (55.6%). People who rated their own inattention higher were more likely to have insomnia, even after other factors were accounted for.
Patients taking stimulants reported milder insomnia symptoms than those not taking them. Yet the share with insomnia did not differ significantly. It was 66.3% for those on stimulants. For those off them, it was 72.2%.
The authors note limits. Self-reports may overstate insomnia. A one-time survey cannot show cause. Stimulant use was reported by clinicians, not measured. Many patients had other conditions, which may have shaped the results.
The authors suggest close monitoring of sleep problems in all adults with ADHD, whether or not they take medication, and treating any insomnia found as its own target in care.
Source: Brevik E, Lundervold A, Halmøy A, et al.. Prevalence and clinical correlates of insomnia in adults with attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica (2017). doi:10.1111/acps.12756