Evidence mapPaperPMID 42416635Full record

ArticleJCPP advances2026

Implications of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnostic timing on mental health service utilisation in young adult females: A population-based record linkage cohort study.

Estelle Alderson, Nicholas Bowden, Laurie McLay, Ben Beaglehole, Philip J Schluter

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In one paragraph

Article in JCPP advances, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Estelle AldersonFaculty of Health University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6132-6388
Nicholas BowdenFaculty of Health University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4589-9956
Laurie McLayFaculty of Health University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7002-3695
Ben BeagleholeDepartment of Psychological Medicine University of Otago Christchurch New Zealand.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9521-1745
Philip J SchluterFaculty of Health University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6799-6779

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Sex differences in the frequency and timing of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis exist. While there are multiple known individual and wider consequences for young females with delayed or undiagnosed ADHD, little is known about mental health service utilisation (HSU) impacts. Methods: A national population-based cohort of females aged 18-24 years between July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, in Aotearoa New Zealand was established. ADHD-index, intellectual disability (ID)-index and age at index were derived using established algorithms. Four mental and two non-mental health variables capturing HSU interactions between July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2024 were derived and analyzed for ADHD-index participants. Unadjusted and adjusted modified Poisson regression models were utilised and reported. All analyses were stratified by ID-index. Results: Overall, 212,385 females were included, of whom 5244 (2.5%) had ADHD-index. Of those ADHD-indexed, 486 were also ID-indexed. For females ADHD-indexed, 1638 (31.2%) were indexed at age < 12 years, 1575 (30.0%) at age 12-17 years, and 2031 (38.7%) at age 18-24 years. While different patterns emerged between females with and without ID, those with later ADHD diagnosis were associated with higher rates of psychotropic pharmaceutical dispensing, psychiatric inpatient stays, and non-psychiatric hospitalisations compared to those with early diagnosis. For example, in the adjusted analysis comparing females without ID-index who were ADHD-indexed at age 12-17 years to their counterparts indexed at age < 12 years, the estimated incident rate ratio of psychiatric inpatient stay was 2.07 (95% CI 1.20-3.58). Conclusion: Later ADHD diagnosis among a national cohort of young adult females was common. A later diagnosis was associated with increased mental and non-mental HSU compared to those with earlier diagnosis. Earlier detection of ADHD in females may mitigate their personal burden and reduce subsequent service use.

Indexed as

attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorderdiagnostic timingepidemiologymental health service utilisationyoung adult females

Identifiers

PMID42416635
PMCPMC13339066

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.