NEW DELHI: About 53 per cent of adults with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) chose to keep their diagnosis to themselves, with 66 per cent of young women (aged 18–34) choosing to remain silent compared to 42 per cent of young men, signalling an inherent societal bias.
According to the non-profit organisation Understood.org, about 63 per cent of adults with a learning or thinking difference wish they had been diagnosed earlier in life.
The study surveyed 2,000 adults in the US aged over 18.
The study also found that most adults (56 per cent) agreed that women with ADHD were perceived differently than men with ADHD, including three in four women with ADHD (75 per cent) who feel this way.
As per Laura Key, VP of content strategy and co-leader of the women's initiative at Understood.org, women with ADHD are considerably more likely to be "undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, and misunderstood" than men.
In addition, the study found that about 58 per cent of adults know that women are just as likely to have ADHD as men, yet many have misconceptions about ADHD in women.
A notable 75 per cent of adults were unaware that women with ADHD were less likely to be diagnosed than men, and 72 per cent were unaware that they were more likely to be misdiagnosed than men.
The study also revealed that 87 per cent of people were unaware of bias against women in ADHD testing tools.