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DIFFICULTY CONCENTRATING

Difficulty Concentrating

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Difficulty concentrating is a normal and periodic occurrence for most people. Tiredness and emotional stress can cause concentration problems in most people. Hormonal changes, such as those experienced during menopause or pregnancy, can also affect how we think and concentrate. Concentration problems, when present to an excessive degree, are also characteristic of certain physical and psychological conditions. The hallmark condition associated with difficulty concentrating is attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a condition that has been increasingly diagnosed in both children an adults in recent years. Rare conditions that affect the brain and some emotional problems as well as endocrinologic disturbances can also influence an individual's cognitive functions and thus impair concentration.
Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 3/6/2012
 
 

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children(ADHD in Children or
Childhood ADHD)

ADHD in children facts

  • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a mental-health condition that has characteristics of difficulty concentrating, controlling impulses, and/or excessive activity.
  • Though there is no particular cause of ADHD, there are many social, biological, environmental factors that may raise one's risk of developing the disorder.
  • There are three kinds of ADHD: predominately inattentive type, predominately hyperactive/impulsive type, and the combined (inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive) type.
  • While medications are often prominent in the treatment of ADHD, behavioral treatments are important in improving the child's ability to function as well.
  • The most common medications used to treat ADHD are the stimulant medications.
  • About 85% of children with ADHD are at risk for having the disorder in adulthood.
  • Much of the latest research on ADHD in children focuses on how exposure to environmental toxins may increase the risk of developing this condition.

What is ADHD?

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ADHD, also often called ADD, refers to a mental-health condition called attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. People with ADHD have problems with impulse control, excessive activity, and/or concentration. Statistics show that up to 7% of children and teens are thought to suffer from this disorder at any time, with up to 11% of children being given the diagnosis at some point during their childhood. Physicians diagnose boys with this condition at a rate of more than twice that of girls. That is thought to be at least partly due to the diagnosis in girls being missed because of gender differences in ADHD symptoms.

What are risk factors and causes of ADHD in children?

Although there is no single cause for ADHD, there are a number of biological, environmental and social factors that seem to increase the risk of a person developing the disorder. Brain imaging studies show that the brains of people with ADHD tend to be smaller, the connections between certain parts of the brain are fewer, and the regulation of the neurochemical dopamine tends to be less than in people who have the disorder.
Risk factors for ADHD that can occur in the womb include maternal stress, as well as smoking during pregnancy and low weight at birth. Being male and having a family history of ADHD increase the likelihood that an individual is diagnosed with ADHD. Socially, low family income and low paternal education are risk factors for developing ADHD.
Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 2/28/2014
 
 

Adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) facts

  • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a behavioral condition characterized by distractibility, impulsivity, and/or hyperactivity.
  • Although there is no single cause for ADHD, there are a number of biological and social factors that seem to increase the risk of a person developing the disorder.
  • ADHD affects from 2%-6% of adults, men and women equally.
  • Adults with ADHD may show little to no hyperactivity but for those who do, the hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention symptoms are quite similar to those in children and adolescents.
  • There are three kinds of ADHD: predominately inattentive type, predominately hyperactive/impulsive type, and the combined (inattentive, hyperactive/impulsive) type.
  • In assessing a person for ADHD, a health professional will conduct a medical interview and physical examination. Lab tests are performed and patients are screened for ADHD as well as other mental-health symptoms.
  • Psychological treatments for ADHD in adults include education about the illness, participation in an ADHD support group, and skills training on a variety of topics.
  • ADHD in adults are often prescribed a long-acting stimulant medication. They may also benefit from a nonstimulant medication.
  • Home remedies, including dietary restrictions and vitamin supplements for ADHD in adults, have little research on their effectiveness.
  • The prognosis for ADHD individuals tends to be influenced by the person's severity of symptoms, intelligence, whether or not the ADHD sufferer has other mental-health conditions, as well as the person's family issues.
Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 10/17/2014
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