Historically, ADHD diagnosis and treatment have focused on male presentations, leading to under-diagnosis or misdiagnosis in women.
A key difference for women:
Hormonal changes during the week before menstruation can cause a worsening of ADHD symptoms, making it an especially challenging time.
Additionally, medication doses are based on research typically carried out on males.
This is problematic as anecdotally, women have report a decline in the effectiveness of their medication during the pre-menstrual period.
However, an exciting new case study, appearing to be the first of its kind, aimed to investigate how dosage can be personalised considering the fluctuations in women’s hormones.
Nine women with ADHD, who reported worsening of mood symptoms just before their period, were given an increased dose of their individually prescribed medication during the pre-menstrual period. The women were monitored from 6-24 months.
Results:
Reported changes for some of the women included reduction in emotional intensity, an increased ability to concentrate, reduction in ‘brain fog’, less physical pain and less anxiety. This study provides evidence for the importance of taking female hormones into account when determining dosages for women taking ADHD medication.
⚠️ A word of caution ⚠️
Please don’t modify your medication without the support of a medical professional. This will ensure you receive personalised guidance and recommendations to ensure this is done SAFELY, taking into account individual needs, health and other medications.
Whilst these findings are exciting, there are limitations including the number of participants, their ages and other co-occurring conditions. This means the results should be taken with caution.
🤞 Hopefully this is the start of many more studies to validate these results and establish appropriate guidelines for ADHD medication based on hormonal changes in women.
De Jong, M., Wynchank, D. S., van Andel, E., Beekman, A. T., & Kooij, J. J. S. (2023). Female-specific pharmacotherapy in ADHD: premenstrual adjustment of psychostimulant dosage. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14.
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