How ADHD Steals Years From Lives

….. and why is ADHD missing from the LeDeR programme?

From Missed to Mourned

Last week, I wrote about how delayed ADHD diagnosis in females results in devastating mental health, academic, and social outcomes. That post struck a nerve, and rightly so.

But the true cost goes beyond that.

Recent research using data from UK primary care reveals an even graver cost for those with ADHD: premature death.

And in a brutal twist of inequality, women with ADHD in the UK face an even higher toll than men, losing an estimated 9 years, compared to 7 years for men.

The Data Is Clear

Large-scale population studies consistently show that individuals with ADHD, especially when undiagnosed or untreated, face significantly increased risk of:

• Accidental injury and death
• Substance misuse
• Suicide and self-harm
• Cardiovascular disease
• Metabolic disorders

These aren’t inevitable outcomes.

Many of these risk factors are modifiable, with some studies estimating that 1 in 4 ADHD-related deaths result from preventable external causes.

This is premature mortality, and it’s avoidable.

The Gender Gap

Now layer this onto what we already know about girls and women with ADHD:

• Symptoms are mislabelled as anxiety, trauma, or "personality issues"
• They are less likely to receive timely diagnosis or appropriate treatment
• They are more likely to internalise symptoms, leading to chronic self-blame
• They are now known to lose more years of life than men with ADHD

This isn’t just a clinical issue, it’s a gendered health inequality.

The NHS LeDer Programme Gap

The LeDeR programme exists to learn from the deaths of people with learning disabilities and autistic people, aiming to improve health outcomes and prevent avoidable deaths.

But ADHD which is also a neurodevelopmental condition is not currently within LeDeR’s remit. Why?

This oversight risks missing critical learning that could save lives.

ADHD is linked to increased risk of premature, often preventable, death through factors such as accidents, substance use, suicide, and unmet health needs.

People with ADHD frequently experience suboptimal care, missed physical health warning signs, health and care discrimination as well as various forms of adversity, issues that echo those identified by LeDeR.

So why is ADHD still invisible in systems designed to safeguard lives? It’s exclusion raises a critical question: Who gets counted? And who gets forgotten?

Given the evidence of health inequities and preventable harm, there’s an urgent case for broadening LeDeR’s remit to ensure people with ADHD are not left behind.

Public Health Implications

In public health, we track “years of life lost” to quantify avoidable harm.

ADHD is the clearest case of years of life lost hiding in plain sight. This is a systems failure.

Here’s what’s at stake:

• Equity: Disparities in diagnosis based on gender, race, trauma history, or social presentation mean that some lives are effectively valued less by our diagnostic systems.
• Economics: Early deaths, lost productivity, and chronic illness create enormous burdens for healthcare, education, and employment systems.
• Prevention: ADHD is one of the most treatable neurodevelopmental conditions. This isn’t about lack of tools, it’s about failure to use them equitably.

What Needs to Change

If we are serious about improving outcomes and saving lives, we need to treat ADHD for what it is: a public health priority.

ADHD contributes to health inequalities and premature mortality.

Failing to diagnose it is a preventable risk factor.

Failing to learn from preventable deaths is ignoring the evidence and the lives it could save.

The Clock Is Ticking

When we overlook ADHD, we increase risk and we lose lives.

We know the risks and have the solutions.

If we still do nothing, what does that say about whose lives matter?

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